


Even If You Don't // Calum Hood

by earthtodanielle



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 18:38:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 50,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16897866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthtodanielle/pseuds/earthtodanielle
Summary: Lost and Found have always dreamed of opening for a band like 5 Seconds of Summer, but when they're actually called to go on the Sounds Live Feels Live tour, will it be like everything they'd been imagining?Started July 23rd, 2016





	1. Let Me Show You Something New

Mari's POV

"We've got four very special guests coming up after the break and you won't want to miss this interview," Ryan Seacrest announced just before sending the radio show to commercials. He motioned for my band and I to come into the room so we could get ready.

"'Very special guests'?" I smiled, sitting down on the chair closest to him and putting the headphones on.

"You're too nice to us, Ryan," Kaylynn giggled, taking the seat beside me while Kenzie and Vanessa sat down as well.

"What can I say? I'm a fan," he laughed.

"Ryan Seacrest is a fan of our band," Vanessa sighed dramatically, "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Don't weird him out, Ness," Kenzie grinned, "We might never be invited back."

"Oh, stop," he replied, "I'd have you on the show every week if I could."

"We'd be on every week if we could," I smiled.

"We're on in 10, guys," someone from the other side of the window said and we waited until the 'ON AIR' light in the room went green.

"We are now joined by Lost and Found!" Ryan beamed, starting the interview, "Hello, ladies!

"Hi!" I cheered in unison with my band mates.

"Why don't you all introduce yourselves for those who don't know you?"

Kenzie was the first to start off: "I'm Kenzie and I am lead vocals and guitar."

Vanessa went next: "My name is Vanessa and I play lead guitar and backing vocals."

Then Kaylynn: "I'm Kaylynn and I play bass as well as sing."

And finally, me: "I'm Mari, I am the drummer, and I sing when I feel like it."

"We're so glad you had time to come on the show today!" Ryan grinned, "We were worried you wouldn't be able to fly out to LA!"

"Thank you for having us!" I chirped, "But yeah, we had to do some promo shoots anyway and the scheduling just worked out perfectly for us to stop by."

"Oh, yeah! Congratulations, by the way! We heard that you guys recently were recruited to be 5 Seconds of Summer's opening act for Sounds Live Feels Live," Ryan smiled, "How did you react when you heard the news?"

"I nearly threw up, to be honest," Kenzie laughed.

"We were actually playing a show at the time," I chuckled fondly at the memory, "There were about 150 people in the crowd and our manager just came out and completely stopped the show and told us that their management called to tell us we were on the tour. We had to stop the show for like, 10 minutes just because we couldn't stop crying."

"Yeah," Vanessa grinned, "We're really honored that 5SOS actually want us on tour with them and we're really excited."

"Now, we feel like one of you might be a little more excited than the rest," Ryan smirked.

"Mari!" my band mates exclaimed.

"Thanks for throwing me under the bus there, guys," I rolled your eyes, feeling my cheeks get progressively hotter.

"It's not like you make it any secret that you're in love with Calum Hood," Kaylynn scoffed.

"In love is such a strong phrase..."

"A strong phrase that you use every day," Kenzie giggled.

"Whatever you say, Mrs. Irwin," I smirked, making her eyes widen.

Ryan chuckled, "The reason I bring it up is because we actually interviewed the 5SOS boys a couple days ago and we thought we'd play a little bit of it for you right now." We nodded and he played back a portion for us.

"Oh, yeah," Ashton said, "We're super excited to have Lost and Found on tour with us! We listen to their stuff all the time and it gets us really pumped up before shows and everything." All of our eyes widened slightly at knowing the band listened to our music before going onstage – because, in all honestly, we listened to theirs before shows. "We're just really happy that they're able to join us for the tour!"

"With them being an all-girl group, do you think they'll have any trouble fitting in at all?" Ryan asked them.

"Definitely not," Michael chuckled, "They'll probably have us terrified of them in the first ten minutes." I smiled proudly at the comment, fist bumping Kaylynn since she was sitting right next to me.

"Any non-tour related things you plan on doing? I know you guys travel the world a lot, so do you think you would go out exploring with any of them and things like that?"

"I would love to go exploring with their drummer," Calum chuckled, "She seems like a tough girl to keep up with, but I think I could handle her." I put my hands on my cheeks for a moment before rapidly pointing to myself.

"That's me!" I beamed while the girls made quiet gagging sounds as the interview played on.

"You only want to go with her because you think she's cute," you could hear Michael's smirk.

"Are you suggesting she isn't?" Calum shot back, an obvious playful tone in his voice.

"Why would I be suggesting she isn't?" he scoffed, "You're the one that's in love with her."

I pursed my lips together to hide my grin, but I couldn't keep the bright red cheeks from giving me away. Ryan stopped the recording and everyone looked at me.

"How are you feeling now?" he chuckled. I simply laughed.

"All I'm gonna say is everyone's opinions change as soon as they get to know me," I shrugged.

The interview went on and when it was nearing the end, the question I was expecting finally came up. My three band mates were from the UK and I was American, which made a lot of interviewers ask the same questions over and over again.

"I'm sure you get asked this a lot, Mari," Ryan said, making me smile as I already knew what was going to come out of his mouth next, "You're originally from here – America, that is – but how is it coming from the states to a different country?"

"It was pretty easy," I nodded, "I mean, I just moved to London, so I didn't have to learn a new language or anything and I was pretty relieved about that-" I laughed lightly as did everyone else. "-I've found that it's... I wouldn't say easier to get into the music industry, but it's less difficult to get your name out there in the UK than it is here. You obviously still have to work really hard and prove that you're actually serious about music, but I feel like it's not as..." I trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Intense," Vanessa chimed in.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I nodded quickly, glancing at her, "It's definitely not as intense as it is in this country. You know, America is always going to be home, but I think it was just time for me to move on and try something new."

"Well, I think that something new turned out as a huge success for you girls," Ryan smiled, to which we happily agreed. "So, before we let you out of here, you guys are going to be performing a song for us, yeah?"

"Yup!" Kenzie chirped, "We're doing an acoustic version of Hit and Run."

"Alright, let's hear it!" he beamed. We got up and headed across the room.

~

"That was Lost and Found with their new single Hit and Run," Ryan said into his microphone, "You can catch them on the UK, US, and Australian legs of the Sounds Live Feels Live tour with 5 Seconds of Summer starting April 5th. Tickets are available now on both bands' websites." He turned back to us, "It was a pleasure having you, ladies. We'll see you again soon."

"Thank you!" we smiled in unison, each of us giving him a hug as another member of the station turned on the commercials.

~

Title: "Something New" by Set It Off


	2. Taking Off Like Fire in the Wind

Mari's POV

One month later; Wednesday morning

This was it; The day my three best friends and I were leaving for the chance of a life time.

We had been on the road for almost three and a half hours now, driving to meet 5 Seconds of Summer at Robin Hood Airport. We wanted to pick them up from the airport to get to know each other on the hour long ride to Sheffield where the first show on the UK leg of the tour was on Friday night. Kaylynn and I were in my car while Kenzie was in hers with Vanessa.

"How exciting is this?!" Kaylynn squealed once the airport was finally in sight.

"Kay," I couldn't help but grin widely, "This is real. Like, we are actually going on tour with 5 Seconds of Summer."

"This is so crazy," she murmured to herself before squealing even louder than she had previously. She pointed out the dashboard window, "Look! That's gotta be their plane! They're here!"

"Thank God," I giggled, "I swore we were gonna be late with how long Vanessa took to finish packing."

"You'd think we'd learn not to let her save everything until the last minute," Kaylynn commented, shaking her head as she laughed along, "Plus, we're gonna be home for like, a week for a couple shows after tonight anyway. She totally had time."

I pulled into the parking garage and Kenzie and Vanessa met with us at my car, then we walked into the building. Since we'd parked in the garage, there were no fans waiting around, so it was pretty easy to get in and split up to find the gate the boys would be coming from.

However, once we made it into the terminal, it was a whole different story.

"Guys!" Kenzie called out, making me, Vanessa, and Kaylynn turn toward the direction her voice was coming from. She waved, not continuing until she had all of your attention. "I think I found their gate!" she informed us. The three of us sprinted over to her, rounding the corner and seeing a large group of fans standing around.

"Wow," Vanessa gaped, "I knew there was probably gonna be a lot of people here, but this is crazy."

"Just think, guys," Kaylynn said, "After this tour, those could be our fans waiting for us at airports." I saw one of the brown-haired girls in the back of the group look over and her eyes widened.

"I think it's safe to say one of them already is," I chuckled, watching her look back at the group, making sure they were completely distracted before she sneaked away. No one noticed she'd left as she trotted over to us.

"Hi," she said with a shy smile, "Would... Um... Would it be okay if you guys signed this?" She pulled a Sharpie and a copy of our EP out of her bag.

"Absolutely!" Kenzie beamed, taking the two items from her, "What's your name?"

"Madison," she answered, "And I just wanna say that I love you guys so much. I heard the boys say you were gonna be on tour with them so I looked up Hit and Run and I was hooked."

"Thank you!" Vanessa giggled, signing the CD case as well.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" she asked curiously, "I thought you would have met them at the venue so you didn't have to deal with this craziness."

"Wanted to get to know them a bit before tour officially starts," I smiled, taking the CD from Kaylynn after she'd signed it, "You can find out a lot about a person by the way they act in a car for an hour."

"Try three and a half," Kaylynn scoffed, shoving me lightly, "Your road rage is unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"Well, if people weren't such stupid drivers, I wouldn't have to yell at them," I sassed, handing the brunette her things back.

"She's got a point," Madison nodded. We suddenly heard screams, making us look up as the band was coming out of the gate.

"You should get back over there," I told her.

"Eh, I was in the back," she sighed, "I probably wouldn't have met them anyway. But I'm really happy I got to meet you!"

"Can you stick around? We'd be happy to give you time to talk to them before we leave."

"Oh, that's fine," she shook her head, "I'm sure you guys have a lot of stuff to do before the show. I'll just try to catch them tomorrow."

"You're going to the show too?" Kaylynn asked.

"Yeah, I actually live in Sheffield, so hopefully I'll be able to find you guys around town or something."

"Well, we'll definitely be looking for you," I laughed, "Thanks for coming over and saying hi!"

"Thank you for signing my CD!" she smiled, "Would it be okay if I got a hug before I go too?"

"Of course!" Kenzie chirped, hugging the girl tightly. Madison hugged the rest of us as well, me going last.

"Before you go, I have something to ask," I announced, "We were planning on surprising the boys by playing a cover of a song of theirs that isn't on their set, so do you have a favorite that they won't be doing?"

"You want me to pick?" her eyes widened.

"We thought it would be fun to ask one of our fans to pick our cover for the night," Vanessa shrugged.

"Oh, God," she murmured with a soft giggle, "How comfortable are you with English Love Affair?"

"Yes!" Kaylynn cheered quietly, "I told you guys we should do that song!" The other girls and I simply rolled our eyes.

"I think we should have done Mrs All American," I commented, sticking my tongue out at the bassist. She happily returned the gesture as I turned back to Madison. "Just make sure you don't tell anyone," I reminded her, "We don't want this to get back to the band before the show."

"Your secret is safe with me," she grinned.

"Oh, are we telling secrets over here?" Michael chirped as he came over, "I want in!" Madison's eyes widened and her head snapped over as see the boys set their carryon bags down at their feet.

"Oh my God," she whispered to herself and then looked back at me, "You were stalling, weren't you?"

"Guilty," I shrugged with a bright smile, "But you're welcome."

"You're still going to do the thing though, right?"

"Of course!" I answered.

"What thing?" Luke asked, receiving no replies. The boys took photos with Madison before she had to leave, giving us hugs again and heading toward the direction of the parking garage.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Ashton grinned, hugging all of us, followed by the other three.

"I might have called Bryan," I sighed dramatically, referring to their driver, "And I might have told him we were thinking about taking a road trip, and I might have brought up the idea of picking you guys up from the airport, and he might have agreed."

"And by might have, you mean..." Calum smiled.

"Definitely," I nodded, "He definitely agreed."

"This should be interesting then," Ashton pondered out loud.

"Oh, it's gonna be something," Kaylynn snickered, earning herself a shove from me. We went to baggage claim to get the boys' luggage, then led them to the parking garage. I pulled out my keys, stopping at my car.

"The two most amazing and best looking members of each band are in my car and the other mediocre members are with Kenz," I announced.

"Oh, well, alright," Michael shrugged, stepping toward me.

"Not on your life, Clifford," I laughed, pushing him back toward Kenzie and Vanessa as they rolled their eyes at my antics.

"What?" he pouted.

"Rhythm section's gotta stick together, guys," I smirked, "The rest of the band is nothing without us."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Ashton cheered, high-fiving me as he walked over, "I call shotgun!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you listen here, Irwin," Kaylynn spoke up, helping him and Calum put their bags into the trunk of my car, "That's not how this works. I am the best friend, therefore, I have shotgun no matter what." She turned to me, "Right, Mar?"

"Kenz and Nessa are my best friends too though, so..." I trailed off, "I'm gonna have to grant Ashton the front seat on this one."

"What?!" she shouted, "Since when do you side with someone who isn't me?!"

"Come on, Kay," I stuck your bottom lip out, throwing my arm around Ashton's shoulders and held his chin in my hand, "Look at this face. Why would you turn this down?"

Everyone chuckled quietly as I released him and then climbed into their respective cars. Ashton took his spot in the front, Kaylynn sat behind him, and Calum was behind me. I turned on the radio, putting the volume low so everyone could still hear each other.

"So are you guys excited for tour?" Calum asked.

"Nah," Kaylynn squeaked, "Definitely not. It's not like we've been waiting our entire music careers for an opportunity like this. That would be insane."

"Kay," I giggled, "I know you're upset you're in the back, but you don't need to be rude."

"I am not being rude, Mari," she stated, "I am being sarcastic. There's a difference."

"Well, with you, it's usually hard to tell," I stuck my tongue out at her when I stopped at a red light.

"What about you?" she changed the subject, "When you moved to London, did you ever think all of this was gonna happen?" I let out a breathy laugh.

"No," I said softly, "It's crazy."

"So why did you move here?" Calum wondered, "I know you said on Ryan Seacrest's show that America was really intense, but I'm sure a phenomenal drummer like you still could have easily found something to do with music."

"Thank you," I smiled shyly, driving again as the light turned green, "I tried getting signed by so many labels, but I was just never 'what they were looking for'. I know not all American labels are bad, but they never thought I'd be able to make it as a drummer."

"I bet they're all kicking their asses now," Ashton laughed.

"They better be," Kaylynn scoffed, "She was amazing when she got rejected by those dickwads, but she's gotten so much better now."

"How did you guys meet then?" he asked, "Were you friends before or did you meet because of the band thing?"

"Kenz used to work in a music shop," I explained, "Kay and Nessa were there hanging around since they'd all known each other since like, kindergarten and I went in one day to buy some new drumsticks since the airport carelessly handled my bag and broke most of the ones I'd brought with me." I rolled my eyes at the memory. "When I got to the register, Kenzie asked if I knew how to play and when I said yes, they made me play on the counter top before she would let me buy them," I giggled.

"She laughs now," Kaylynn said, "But if Kenz hadn't made her do that, we probably wouldn't have ever heard her drum and then she wouldn't be in the band."

"So you joined the band later too," Ashton grinned.

"I did," I smiled, "And they never let me forget it."

"What do you mean?"

"'We put you in this band, Mari Danielle, we can take you right back out!'" Kaylynn mocked what my friends would tease me with.

"They don't like it when I mother them," I informed Ashton and Calum.

"We don't like that you don't let loose every once in a while," she said.

"I'm not gonna go out and get drunk the night before I have to be at work at 7am," I corrected her, "I'd like to keep being able to pay rent. And if I don't mother you, you'd all get shitfaced before interviews and then you'd get mad at me for not stopping you."

"Well, you're the one who insists that we can't control ourselves," she rolled her eyes.

"Because I know you, Kaylynn," I laughed.

~

Title: "Fly Away" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	3. I Just Can't Wait to Be King

Mari's POV

The next day; 10am

All of our equipment had already been picked up and taken to the venue before we left to get the boys yesterday, so all we had to do was set up for soundcheck. Since we were the openers, it was decided that it would just be easier for Ashton use my drums for their turn at soundcheck instead of setting up his kit just to take it back down again.

I looked at the hazel-eyed boy curiously as he trotted over and began helping me set up my drums without anyone asking him to.

"What?" Ashton asked with a smile when he noticed me staring.

"Nothing," I laughed under my breath, continuing to work, "Just not used to people helping me do this."

"Well, look at the bright side," he shrugged, "When you guys become ridiculously famous after this tour, you'll be able to hire a guy to do it for you."

"Where's the satisfaction in that, Ash?" I teased.

"You can warm up your vocal cords and sing your songs so you don't forget the lyrics," he stuck his tongue out at me.

"That something you remind Calum to do every day?" I winked and he nodded seriously in response. I simply giggled and went on, "I'm pretty good with our lyrics, you know. I'd rather do a song I don't have to hear every single day."

"Go for it then," Ashton challenged.

I happily accepted it, climbing up onto the seat behind my drum kit and then hopping onto the speaker beside it. Once I was standing back on my feet, I looked around the empty arena with my hands on my hips.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Ashton quickly went into responsible-mode on me, "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Who's going to hurt themselves?" Kaylynn asked as she and the group came onto the stage. They looked at where Ashton was gazing and found me. "Mari Danielle Duncan, if you fall off of that thing, so help me God-" I cut her off with a small smirk.

"I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware," I sang, earning a laugh from my bandmates and an eye roll from the boys – typical Mari, as the girls would say.

"Well, I've never seen a king of beast with quite so little hair!" Kenzie giggled.

"I'm gonna be the main event like no king was before," I shook my head, "I'm brushing up on looking down, I'm working on my ROAR!"

"Thus far, a rather...uninspiring this," Vanessa chirped, making me wave her off.

"Oh, I just can't WAIT to be king!" I smiled widely.

"You've a long way to go, Mari, if you think-" I cut Kaylynn off.

"No one saying do this," I rolled me eyes jokingly, jumping off of the speaker.

"No one saying be there!" Michael chimed in, making everyone look at him.

"No one saying stop that!" I sang and then Michael and I sang in unison, "No one saying see here!" I went on by myself, "Free to run around all day, free to do it all my way!"

"I think it's time that you and I arranged a heart-to-heart," Calum joined in. I skipped over to him as I sang the next line.

"Kings don't need advice from little bassists for a start," I giggled, poking his nose.

"Rude," Kaylynn scoffed, but snickered quietly at the blush on Calum's cheeks.

"If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out!" Luke exclaimed dramatically, throwing his hands up, "Out of service, out of Africa; I wouldn't hang about!"

"This child is getting wildly out of wing," Ashton shook his head, obviously trying not to smile.

"Oh, I just can't wait to be king!" I grinned. I trotted over to the center of the stage. "Everybody look left, everybody look right; Everywhere you look I'm-" I furrowed my eyebrows for a moment before stepping forward, right where Luke's microphone stand would be. "-standing in the spotlight!"

"Not yet!" Kaylynn stated, pulling me back to my drum kit and making me sit down on the bass drum. My smirk only grew, skipping the next part of the song and going straight to the last three lines.

"Oh, I just can't wait to be king," I grinned. I then stood up to deliver the next line, "Oh, I just can't wait to be king. Oh, I just can't wait-" As I held out the note, I hopped up on my seat and climbed back onto the speaker to end the song. "-to be king!"

My hands were back on my hips as I overlooked the venue, the few crew members setting up the barricade stopping to clap. I bowed jokingly, making them chuckle before getting back to work.

"Alright," Ashton chuckled, walking over to me, "Seriously, get down from there before you hurt yourself." He held his arm up, letting me take his hand so I could jump back off the speaker.

"You have to unwind, guys!" I squeaked, "You're all too worried about everything not being ready in time! You all needed an impromptu Disney sing-along!"

"That was pretty fun, huh?" Kenzie giggled.

"Prepare yourselves for tomorrow because we'll be doing I'll Make a Man Out of You," I announced.

"No way!" Kaylynn exclaimed, "You get way too slap-happy during that song."

"Well, if you guys would just man up before the second verse, I wouldn't have to," I sassed. The boys chuckled under their breaths.

"Okay, kitten," Michael said, already having given me a nickname, "What do you say you and me go cause some trouble somewhere else?" He threw his arm around my shoulders, beginning to lead me away from the group.

"I thought you'd never ask, Mikey," I sighed dramatically, slipping my arm around his waist and leaning into him.

Calum's POV

"Look at him," Kaylynn smirked at me, causing everyone to turn their attention to the two of us, "He's in so deep already and he's barely even had a conversation with her."

"Shut up," I mumbled, blushing ever-so-slightly.

"We thought she was just a celebrity crush, Cal," Luke snickered, "We didn't think you were actually in love with her."

"I'm not in love with anybody."

"Yet," Ashton grinned, trotting away with Luke, Kaylynn, Kenzie, and Vanessa following behind him.

~

Title/song used: "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from The Lion King


	4. It Started on a Weekend in May

Calum's POV; The next day

"Okay, guys!" Joe, my band's photographer for the tour, announced, "I need to get some promo shots, so let's get this done!"

"Didn't we already do a promo shoot for this tour?" Michael whined, but followed everyone outside anyway.

"That was with the other bands, Mike," he shook his head, "There's a new band on the tour now." 

"Better tell the homecoming queen to hold onto her crown, or she's gonna lose it to the new girl in town," Mari sang. We all stared at her and she cocked an eyebrow. "Hairspray? No one, really? Y'all disappoint me."

"Nobody knows what you're talking about, Mari," Kaylynn stated.

"That is not true and you know it," she replied, "I've made you all watch it before."

"Was that that movie you made us watch with you just because you thought we'd like it since Zac Efron is in it?" Vanessa asked.

"Tell me you didn't enjoy it."

"We didn't enjoy it," the girls replied in unison.

"Wait, so is that an American thing because I've never even heard of it," Ashton commented. Mari's eyes widened and she grabbed his shoulders.

"I'm going to fix you, Ashton Irwin," she said with a serious tone.

"You do that, Mari Duncan," he chuckled confusedly as she released him. Interrupting Mari and Ashton's moment, Joe stopped us when we reached a brick wall tagged with graffiti.

"Perfect!" he said, "Everyone line up against the wall."

"It's a shame we don't have those things you hold when you take mug shots," Vanessa commented.

"The mug shot thing has already been overdone," Kaylynn shook her head.

"Hey!" Michael exclaimed, "We've done it before!"

"Exactly," she replied, shoving his shoulder. I caught Mari smiling as she was leaning up against the brick, but she didn't make any additional commentary, so I decided to go over to her.

"Be careful, Mari," I told her, "Standing over here alone makes you look like you're trying to sing Good Girls without anyone hearing you."

"Well, not anymore," she scoffed, playfully rolling her eyes. I grinned, leaning back next to her, trying to ignore the fact that she'd scooted closer so our arms were touching.

"Okay," Joe went on, "Everyone stand with their own band." We all did and took a few photos before he asked if we had any ideas of our own.

"Awkward prom photos!" Kenzie cheered.

"What?" Luke laughed.

"You know," Mari said, "Photos that look like this." She grabbed Kaylynn and pulled her in front of her, wrapping her arms around her waist. The two could barely hold in their laughter before Mari let go.

"It's less awkward when you're looking at a photo, but seeing it in person is just uncomfortable," Ashton shook his head.

"Exactly!" Kenzie squeaked.

"Now, girls," Kaylynn cocked an eyebrow, "The real question is who would we take to prom?"

"I wanna go with Mari!" Michael shouted, grabbing her hand and bringing her to him.

"Why's that, Clifford?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist, "Am I the only one willing to go with such a video game geek?"

"I don't wanna take Mari anymore," he frowned, "She only abuses me."

"I do it out of love, Mikey," she giggled, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I'd take Vanessa," Luke shrugged.

"Really?" she replied skeptically.

"Look at this pairing and tell me we wouldn't be voted cutest couple," he challenged, going over to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"To be fair, anyone with Nessa is going to be voted cutest couple," Mari replied with a wink. Vanessa simply rolled her eyes.

"Well, I've got my eye on Kay," Ashton teased, "She's the only one of you out-of-shape losers who can keep up with me when we're out for a run."

"Damn right," Kaylynn smirked, high-fiving the drummer.

"Guess that means you're stuck with me," I shrugged, smiling shyly at Kenzie.

"Don't worry, Cal," she giggled, "All these idiots are gonna be jealous when they see how good you look in a tux."

"The day you get Calum Hood in a tux is the day I stop playing video games forever," Michael rolled his eyes.

"Calum, you have to wear a tux!" Kaylynn exclaimed, "I'm so tired of hearing those stupid games when I'm trying to sleep!"

"Just put your headphones on and listen to music," I shrugged, "That's what I do."

We stood in our awkward poses, barely able to contain our laughter at how dumb we were sure we looked, but Joe said he was able to get a couple good shots. He asked for any other suggestions before we had to get back to the venue, and Mari spoke up that time.

"You guys remember that shoot you did where you were on each other's backs?" she asked the boys and I, "We should do that!"

"What if we were the ones carrying them?" Vanessa snickered.

"They're like twigs; This'll be easy," Kaylynn commented.

"Alright, well, that's a little not true," Michael replied.

"Still looking as hot as ever though," Mari winked, making him roll his eyes.

Since Joe wanted to get the photos ready sometime today, he interjected into the conversation again. He had everyone go with their respective instruments in the band – Kenzie and Luke, Vanessa and Michael, Mari and Ashton, and Kaylynn and myself. Along with being able to hold their own as musicians, they were actually quite strong as well. The boys and I were surprised they were able to hold us up without wobbling even a little bit – then again, these girls were full of surprises.

~

That night

"Lost and Found!" their manager, Gabrielle, hollered, "You're on in two minutes!"

"Oh my God," Kenzie's eyes widened, "Oh my God, this is actually happening right now."

"Guys," Mari said, wrapping her arms around Kenzie and squeezing, "We've got nothing to worry about! We could play these songs in our sleep!"

"Mar's right," Vanessa chirped, "We wrote these songs. We'll have no problems!"

"Yeah, but Calum forgets his lyrics all the time," Kenzie said. I didn't say anything – I just rolled my eyes.

Suddenly, the arena erupted into screams and it was clear that the 60 second countdown for the girls' set had started. We could hear the video they recorded as their introduction playing and they started bouncing on their feet.

"No matter what happens out there tonight, we're going to put on the best damn show we've ever had," Mari said, looking at her band mates, "And we're going to leave this arena with more fans than we had when we walked in. So let's show these people that we know what the hell we're doing out there."

"Alright, Kenz!" Gabrielle said, "Go!"

Kenzie immediately started playing the guitar hanging on her shoulder, hearing the crowd scream even louder than before. She smiled widely and it was like everyone could see her nerves leave her body. Vanessa and Kaylynn joined in with their instruments as well while Mari crouched down and snuck up to her drums. The stage was dark apart from the flashing lights coming from the lighting booth. With her sticks gripped tightly in one hand, Mari's other hand went to the pedal on her bass drum, hitting it in sync with the lights. The other girls waited for a couple moments before Gabrielle signaled for them to go onstage. The energy in the room was undeniable – and it was that much more impressive since they hadn't even started playing the first song on their set list yet.

Mari's POV

"Thank you guys so much for singing along!" Kenzie beamed when we finished our second song, "For those of you who don't know us, we are Lost and Found! I'm Kenzie, that's Vanessa, there's Kaylynn, and Mari's back there by herself," she giggled as she motioned to each member as she introduced them.

"I mean, it's fine," I spoke into my mic, "Everyone knows all the cool kids sit in the back anyway." Everyone laughed at the comment as Kaylynn went on.

"So we have a few more songs to play for you guys tonight, is that cool?" she asked, obviously earning applause from the crowd. "Okay, good," she nodded, "Because you really don't have a choice."

"Yeah, sorry if you hate us," Vanessa shrugged, "But you have to push through the opener to get to who you really came to see tonight."

"I only came on this tour to see Ketchup," I sighed dramatically, "And then I found out he's not even here tonight. I feel so cheated. But 5SOS is okay, I guess." I could faintly hear the boys sigh, making me snort softly.

We then played three more songs before going into another talking bit.

"For our cover song tonight, we wanted to do something a little special," Kenzie announced, "We met a fan of ours at the airport the other day and asked her which 5SOS song that was not on their set list tonight she wanted to hear and she picked this song. She's somewhere in the audience right now, so wherever you are, Madison, this one is for you."

"It's not Wherever You Are, just saying," Vanessa giggled.

"It's not Just Saying either," I snickered, earning a playful glare from the guitarist.

The crowd laughed at our banter as Kaylynn went on, "It ended up being perfect since this is our first show of the tour and we're in England and 75% of this band is English and-"

"USA! USA! USA!" I chanted, bouncing in my seat, making everyone laugh again.

"Mari!" Kaylynn groaned jokingly, "Stop it with your American superiority or you can't sing the second verse!"

"I mean, you could take the solo from me, but I'm just gonna sing it anyway, so," I shrugged.

"Can we just play the song now?" Kenzie laughed.

"Sorry if I kinda suck at this song," I pouted, "I just really want to be Ashton Irwin, but they only gave me six minutes to learn how to play this one and Ash wouldn't let me borrow a bandana."

I looked over to the side of the stage where the boys were standing, finding Ashton rolling his eyes and laughing at my comment. He pulled something out from behind his back, holding up a red bandana. I motioned for him to come onstage and he shook his head, but I stuck my bottom lip out, making him cave.

"Ashton Irwin, everybody!" I exclaimed into my mic, making the crowd scream as loudly as they could when he stepped into view. "Whatchya doing out here, Ash?" I smiled innocently. Ashton chuckled, leaning on my back as he spoke into my microphone.

"Giving you a bandana, you big baby," he teased.

"Ashton!" I pouted again while he just stood back upright and tied the bandana around my forehead. He playfully kissed my cheek when he was done, causing me to fake disgust. "Ew, cooties!" I squealed, making everyone laugh. Ashton waved to the audience as he walked back offstage.

"Are we ready now, Ashton?" Kaylynn snickered, looking back at me.

"I believe we are, Kaylynn!" I spoke in the best Australian accent I could.

I started playing my drums, Kaylynn joined in with bass, Vanessa with guitar, and Kenzie got the crowd clapping before she started singing. The boys quickly caught onto what song we were playing, and they all watched with impressed smiles at how perfectly we played and sang.

I delivered the 'Every single step had me begging for the next' line with a suggestive roll of my hips despite the fact that I was sitting down. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the three boys looked at Calum and snickered quietly.

"Pick your jaw up, Cal," Michael teased him.

"Shut up," Calum grumbled, shoving Michael's arm as he finally looked away from me.

And I couldn't help but blush.

~

Title/song mentioned: "English Love Affair" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
Other song mentioned: "The New Girl in Town" from Hairspray


	5. I'm Where I'm Meant to Be

Calum's POV

One month later, we were finally in Italy. Since the boys and I had never been to the country before, we were able to land a day off just to explore. But before that, we had two shows to play.

It was a typical morning: Early wake up calls for interviews, rushing back to the venue for soundcheck, and one...or four...pit stops at Starbucks along the way. The girls – much to the jealousy of my band – got to sleep in that morning and we made it back to the venue as they were getting ready to soundcheck.

Luke and Ashton went back to the hotel to take showers so Michael and I wouldn't have to wait for them to get done later. So he and I decided to go see if the girls needed help with anything on stage. We only found one of them – Mari – as she was setting up her drums, but Kaylynn came up behind us not long after. We didn't make our presences known, however – wanting to listen to Mari as she sang yet another Disney song to herself.

"All those days watching from the windows, all those years outside looking in, all that time never even knowing just how blind I'd been," Mari sang softly, "Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight. Now I'm here, suddenly, I see-" She paused her work to look out into the empty arena. "-standing here, it's all so clear I'm where I'm meant to be." She smiled slightly to herself, "And at last, I see the light and it's like the fog has lifted. And at last, I see the light, and it's like the sky is new. And it's warm and real and bright and the world has somehow shifted. All at once, everything looks different now that I see you."

"Cal, go," Kaylynn whispered.

"Kaylynn," I mumbled.

"Come on!" she exclaimed softly, "I know you know this song! She's always wanted to slow dance to this!"

"I have two left feet, Kay!" I shook my head, "If I go out there, I'm gonna make myself look like an idiot!" While Kaylynn huffed under her breath, Michael rolled his eyes and walked out onstage and I could feel my chest get heavier.

"All those days chasing down a daydream, all those years living in a blur-" Mari turned to look over her shoulder and found Michael smiling goofily as he sang Flynn's part. "-all that time never truly seeing things the way they were. Now she's here, shining in the starlight. Now she's here, suddenly, I know if she's here, it's crystal clear I'm where I'm meant to go." She giggled softly when he held his hand down to her, signaling for her to take it. He pulled her up to her feet, wrapping his other arm around her waist as her hand laid on his shoulder.

As the two of them sang the song and slow danced in the middle of the stage, Mari didn't even notice anyone else watching. When I saw her lay her head on Michael's shoulder, there was something happening in my chest I hadn't really ever felt before. It was like a twisting feeling mixed with a bit of anger. And it was my fault; Kaylynn had tried to get me to dance with her instead, but I refused, afraid I'd screw something up. But now, there was something there that I was more afraid.

What if me being too afraid to admit my feelings for Mari drove her to someone else? What if Michael decided that since I was too afraid to ask her out, he would instead? Deep down, I'd like to think that Michael would never do that to me, but as I walked away – not wanting to watch them anymore – I couldn't help but wonder what if.

No... Wait... What's wrong with me? I've known this girl for what, a month? I can't possibly have this much of a crush on her already... Right? And even if I did, I would have to get her alone long enough to admit that I liked her. But how am I supposed to do that with a schedule that made it so impossible?

~

Mari's POV

Michael and I finished singing the song, but neither of us moved away from each other. While we all hugged each other numerous times a day, it just felt nice to be able to do it for longer than two seconds without someone else interrupting.

I did, however, move my arms down from Michael's neck to his waist so I could hug him more comfortably. His own arms repositioned themselves to hug my shoulders as I happily buried my face in his shirt.

"Kay tell you how much I love that song?" I asked him, my voice muffled slightly by the fabric.

"And that you've always wanted to slow dance to it?" he teased, "Yeah." He leaned in closer so he could whisper in my ear, "I think she was hinting more toward Calum coming out here and dancing with you, but he was too nervous." I blushed a bright shade of red, making him chuckle when he moved back and saw it.

"Why would he be nervous over me?" I sighed, "I'm no one to get nervous over."

"Come on, Mar. You're talented and hilarious and not to mention incredibly gorgeous," he said, "He'd be crazy to not be into you."

"That's just a thing people tell their friends," I shook my head, releasing my grip on him and going back to my drum kit.

"A thing people tell their friends when it's true, Mari," Michael followed me, standing beside the drums as I sat down to tune them.

"It doesn't have to be true, it's just to make them feel better."

"It's true and you know it," he stated, coming up behind me and plucking my drumsticks out of my hands.

"Michael!" I exclaimed, jumping up.

"Say it's true," he ordered, holding them above his head so I couldn't reach them.

"Michael!" I whined.

"Say it, Mari!"

I huffed lightly, but I wasn't waving the white flag that easily. I stepped up on my seat so I was taller than him, but he only moved his hand behind his back.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Michael Gordon, if you do not give me my sticks back right now, I swear to God, I'll send one right through your hand later."

"That's not very nice, Mari," he pouted.

"Then give them back!"

"You know what you have to do to get them back," he shook his head.

"I'm not going to say things that aren't true, Michael," I said firmly, crossing my arms over my stomach.

"Then I guess you're not getting these sticks back," he shrugged, sauntering away.

I sighed to myself, getting back down from the chair and going all the way to my dressing room so I could get an extra pair of sticks from my bag. I decided to take a break though, putting the sticks on the coffee table and flopping down on the couch. But I wasn't even give two minutes of peace and quiet before the door opened.

"Kenz, have you seen-" Luke cut himself off when he realized Kenzie wasn't even in the room, his eyes landing on me instead. "Oh, sorry, Mari," he said, "I didn't know you were resting."

"It's okay, Lu," I murmured, "Who are you looking for?"

"Mike. I heard he was onstage with you, but I just checked and he wasn't there. Do you know where he went?"

"Probably went to go annoy someone else."

Luke looked at me for a moment before fully coming into the room, closing the door behind him. He came over to the couch, picking up my legs and sitting down so they were lying on his lap.

"What happened?" he asked, his fingers toying with one of the rips in my jeans.

"Nothing," I sighed, "He just stole my drumsticks and won't give them back."

"Sounds very Michael," Luke nodded, "Why'd he take them?"

"Because he enjoys being a prick?" I suggested, making him laugh.

"I think you just need a nap," he said, "I'm sure Ash wouldn't mind finishing setting up for you."

"A nap would be nice," I couldn't help but chuckle myself, "But there's no way it'd be quiet long enough for me to fall asleep."

"How about you go sleep on the bus? No one will be allowed on unless it's me coming to wake you up for show time." I thought for a moment.

"No one will come on?" I asked.

"No one," he confirmed, "I'll have Bryan guard the door if I have to." I giggled softly, making him smile. He stood up, turning around and holding his hands down to me so he could pull me to my feet.

"Thanks, Lu," I told him. He kissed my forehead, grabbing the drumsticks from the table and leading me out of the dressing room. He walked me to the back door then to the bus, opening the door for me.

"See you in a couple hours," he said as I climbed on before closing the door behind me and leaving to find Bryan.

~

Title/song used: "I See The Light" from Tangled


	6. Show Me What Love's All About

Mari's POV; Four hours later

"Mari," I heard someone whisper as my shoulder was being shaken, "Time to wake up."

"Go away, Luke," I mumbled into the pillow my face was currently shoved into, making him chuckle.

"Come on, Mar," he said, "I told you I was gonna wake you up for show time. You go on in half an hour."

"That's 25 more minutes of sleep!"

"You still have to get dressed."

"Fine then, 24 minutes," I reasoned, making him laugh a little louder.

"You can have as much more time to sleep as it will take me to carry you to your dressing room," Luke said. Before I could even react to the statement, he was already pulling me out of the bunk.

"Luke!" I squealed as I dropped out of the bunk and into his arms.

"Thought you wanted more sleep," he grinned smugly, making sure he had a firm hold on me before heading back out of the bus.

"You're so annoying," I grumbled but laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes anyway.

"Mhmm," he hummed in acknowledgement, carefully pulling down on the door handle to get into the venue before kicking it back closed with his foot. He did the same with the dressing room door and we were immediately met with the rest of my band.

"How was your nap, Sleeping Beauty?" Vanessa giggled.

"Would have been better if I wasn't woken up," I replied, opening my eyes again.

"Hey, you would have given me the silent treatment for a week if I hadn't woken you up," Luke pouted as he put me down.

"Yeah," Kaylynn snorted softly, "He learned that lesson the hard way in Glasgow." I finally laughed, reaching up to kiss Luke's cheek.

"Thanks, Lukey," I teased. He laughed as well, shoving my shoulder.

"Hurry up and get ready," he said, "You're on in less than 30."

"Okay, Gabrielle!" we said simultaneously, making fun of him for acting like our manager. Luke flipped us off as he left the room, closing the door as we all laughed at him.

~

45 minutes later

"Are you guys still with us?" Kenzie spoke into her microphone, causing the crowd to cheer. "Good!" she grinned, "So I'm sure everyone knows the drill by now: It's time for our 5SOS cover!"

"We thought we'd switch it up a bit tonight, so one of us is going to pick the song!" Kaylynn explained.

"Oh, who's the lucky winner?" Vanessa egged as if we hadn't already decided.

"Mari!" Kenzie cheered, "What song have you picked for us this evening?!"

"Well, Kenzie!" I chirped, "I have picked the song that my four favorite idiots are too scared to do live!"

Kaylynn gasped dramatically, "We're doing every 5SOS song ever?!" The crowd laughed along with us while the boys simply rolled their eyes as they came over to stand at the side of the stage – as they did whenever we began leading into the covers.

"Unfortunately, we don't have that kind of time," I shook my head, "But we do have time for the song that made me fall in love with the band."

"You mean made you fall in love with Calum Hood," she snickered.

"Oh, so that's why she's taking his solo!" Kaylynn smirked. I saw the boys teasingly nudging Calum out of the corner of my eye, making me groan internally – there was no way I'd be able to avoid that comment later.

"5 Seconds of Summer has now changed their name to Calum Hood!" I announced with an eye roll, "You heard it here first, guys!"

"So, no pressure or anything, Mari," Kenzie said, "But if you mess up your solos, we're gonna kick you out of the band."

"You three can't live without me and you know it," I stated, beginning to hit the pedal under my foot.

The moment the rest of the band joined in with their instruments and 'oh's, the crowd burst into cheers. The boys, however, looked on with skeptical expressions, thinking there was no way that – even though the band was incredibly talented – that we could play a song as difficult as If You Don't Know live and not have a least one mishap.

But if they had learned anything about us throughout the past month on the tour, it was that we loved to prove them wrong.

[Kenzie]

Tonight, we're fading fast, I just wanna make this last  
If I could say the things that I wanna say  
I'd find a way to make you stay  
I'd never let you get away  
Catch you in all the games we've played

So go ahead, rip my heart out  
Show me what love's all about  
Go ahead, rip my heart out  
That's what love's all about

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

I want you to want me this way  
And I need you to need me to stay  
If you say that you don't feel a thing

If you don't know, let me go   
Let me go, let me go, let me go  
If you don't know, then just let me go

[Mari]

Let's forget the past, I swear we'll make this last  
'Cause I remember the taste of your skin tonight  
And the way that you look, you had those eyes  
I remember the way it felt inside  
And the name of the songs that made you cry

You would scream, we would fight, you would call me crazy  
I would laugh, you were mad, but you'd always kiss me  
And the shirt that I had that you always borrowed  
When I woke, it was gone, there was no tomorrow

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

I want you to want me this way  
And I need you to need me to stay  
If you say that you don't feel a thing

If you don't know, let me go  
Let me go, let me go, let me go  
If you don't know, then just let me go

[Mari]

Go ahead rip my heart out   
If you think that's what love's all about  
Go ahead rip my heart out   
Go ahead rip my heart out

I could feel tears start welling up as my voice cracked, silently reprimanding myself already because I knew that was what everyone would be talking about after the show. I had sung this song in my bedroom and at rehearsals countless times, but for some reason, tonight – in front of thousands of people – had to be the moment it finally broke me.

[All]

Go ahead rip my heart out   
If you think that's what love's all about  
Go ahead rip my heart out   
Go ahead rip my heart out

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

I want you to want me this way  
And I need you to need me to stay  
If you say that you don't feel a thing

If you don't know, let me go  
Let me go, let me go, let me go

[All]

If you don't know, then just let me go

Calum's POV

The boys and I watched on, our heads tilted in confusion, as the song ended. We obviously noticed the crack in Mari's voice during the bridge, but we just thought it was because her throat was dry. But when she looked down and wiped her face as Kenzie was introducing the next song, we knew it was much more.

But, because she was Mari and she was as strong as anyone else I'd ever met, she pushed through it, continuing with the rest of the show as if nothing had ever happened.

~

Half an hour later, the girls were bouncing offstage. Mari was smiling along with the others, but she was clearly avoiding looking at anybody – and I knew it was because of what happened during If You Don't Know. My band had a few minutes before we went onstage for our own set, so I decided to head over to Mari. She was standing alone at the table where all the headsets were as she unhooked hers from her jeans and I thought it was the perfect opportunity.

"Hey, Mar," I said, just loudly enough for her to hear, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied with a questioning tone, glancing at me before taking her earpiece out and putting the headset on the table.

"So what happened during that cover was just me hearing things?" She quickly shrugged, probably thinking I didn't notice her pause briefly.

"Don't know what you mean," she said, turning to walk away. I grabbed her hand and turned her back around.

"You know exactly what I mean," I said lowly, "Luke said you've been acting weird since Michael did something to annoy you before the show. And we all know you don't get annoyed with him that easily."

"We've been on this tour for what, a month?" she grumbled, "What could you possibly know about me?"

"I know that you're holding something back," I stated matter-of-factly, "I know that something happened to make you break during that song. I don't know what it is, but I'm gonna find out." Mari's jaw tightened slightly and it was clear she was now annoyed with me.

"Good fucking luck," she mumbled, tearing her hand out of mine and walking away.

~

Title/song used: "If You Don't Know" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	7. Swear This Isn't What I Wanted

Calum's POV

I sighed as Mari walked away, but shook it off the best I could so I wasn't distracted during the show. I grabbed my in-ear monitor and clipped it to the back of my jeans, brought the in-ears up through the back of my shirt, and let the wires rest on my shoulders. I walked over to grab my bass where the other boys were getting their guitars – and Ashton was obviously already holding his drumsticks.

"She okay?" Michael asked. I hummed in confusion, prompting him to continue. "You went to ask Mari about what happened onstage, right?" he clarified, "Is she okay?"

"I'm sure she's fine," I answered, lifting the strap over my head and making sure the instrument laid comfortably against me.

"You're sure?" Ashton cocked an eyebrow.

"She clearly just doesn't want to talk about it," I shrugged, "Don't really think it's my place to make her. If she ever wants to, I'm sure she will." The boys simply shrugged as well in understanding and we all stood around, waiting for our cue to go onstage.

~

Four hours later

Three and a half hours after the show ended, my band had all finished our showers and were now scrambling to get everything packed for our flight to Rome. This wasn't an uncommon thing – rushing to get stuff done – and considering it was only an hour-long flight and there would still be people from the crew at the venue to make sure everything was packed up on the bus and ready to go, we weren't exactly sure why we were freaking out. But, nonetheless, our tour managers – my band and the girls' – wanted to make sure we made our flight so we could get to the hotel and hopefully actually get a full night's sleep for once.

It was now close to midnight and Zoe came into our dressing room. She insisted we just threw whatever we knew belonged to either us or someone in the crew into our bags and we'd just sort it all out once we woke up the next morning. She was always paranoid about us missing our flights or not having enough time to check in and go through airport security, so she tended to kind of boss us around more than usual.

"Zoe, calm down," Ashton said lightheartedly, "You do this every time and every time, we always make our flight."

"You make your flights on time because you don't want me yelling at you," she reminded him, "If I were nicer about this kinda thing, we'd be late to everything."

"She has a point," Michael shrugged, not looking up from his bag as he shoved his shirts into it, "And that's coming from me."

"Let's go, guys," Zoe grinned at the comment, "The girls are already waiting for you outside."

"They're always done before us," Luke rolled his eyes, zipping up his suitcase.

"They're perfectionists; Are you really surprised?" Michael asked.

"We're hardly perfectionists, Mike," we heard at the door, looking over to find Kaylynn and Kenzie coming into the room.

"Yeah," Kenzie agreed with Kaylynn, "We just know where everything is in our messes."

"So do we!" Luke insisted.

"Luke, you lost a shirt when we were in Birmingham."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he frowned.

"You were holding it," Kaylynn stated.

"I was tired, okay?!" he whined, "I hadn't slept in two days!"

"Which is exactly why Zoe is always rushing you guys," Kenzie nodded, "So you can have time to sleep when we actually get to stay in hotels."

"What are you doing in here anyway?" Ashton chuckled at Luke's antics, "I thought Zoe said you were outside."

"It was getting cold," Kaylynn shrugged, "And we figured we'd see if anyone needed help packing."

"If you wanted to help, why didn't you come in half an hour ago?" Michael scoffed. Kenzie simply rolled her eyes and left the room.

"If you want to help, come sit on this for me so I can zip it," I finally spoke.

Kaylynn happily obliged, hopping up onto the top of my suitcase. The boys took their suitcases out to put them on the bus and that was when she decided to talk.

"So you wanna explain to me what happened with Mari after our set?" she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, pulling the zipper underneath her legs before moving to the other side of them to finish closing the bag.

"I saw you two talking at the table when she walked off stage," she said, "And it seemed pretty intense, if I'm honest. I tried asking her about it, but she just shrugged and went to take a shower."

"It wasn't anything, really," I replied, "I asked about what happened during If You Don't Know, she got mad and refused to answer."

"She must feel guilty about getting mad at you then."

"What makes you say that?"

"She's been quiet ever since she got out of the shower," Kaylynn informed me, "And I mean really quiet. And she's only ever this quiet when she's sad."

"She's sad?" I asked, looking at her as she got back off of my suitcase, "Why? Does she think I'm mad at her? I'm not. If anything, I'm mad at myself for pushing her too far."

"Maybe you should tell her that then," Kaylynn shrugged, trotting back out of the room before I could say anything else.

~

Two hours later

I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Mari yet and it was really starting to agitate me. She was sitting alone across the aisle in the airport terminal, but she had her earbuds in listening to music and it was clear she didn't want to be bothered. I didn't know whether she was upset with herself for getting mad at me or whether it was because she thought I was mad at her for it. But I had to find out before it drove me insane.

"Flight 292 to Rome, now boarding," a woman said over the intercom. Mari didn't look up, signaling to me that her music was too loud for her to hear anything else.

But before I could go over and tell her our flight was ready, Michael went up to her. He showed her something – a piece of paper with 'flight's boarding' written on it – because we all knew she hated when people pulled her earbuds out just to get her attention. I watched her look at the paper and then up at Michael, a small smile appearing on her face. She rubbed her eyes – clearly tired – and took his hand when he held it out to her, obviously already having forgiven him for doing whatever it was that made her upset earlier that day.

Michael pulled her out of her seat as she took her earbuds out and put her phone in her bag. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

And there it was again – the heaviness in my chest that came along whenever I saw Michael being affectionate toward Mari. But I shook it off, as I always did – refusing to acknowledge the jealousy bubbling in me.

One day, I'd be brave enough to admit my feelings for her.

I just didn't know when exactly that day would be.

~

Title: "No Control" by Set It Off


	8. I Don't Wanna Let It Burn in the City Lights

Calum's POV

As we boarded the plane, the boys and I got to our seats before the girls. We were all pretty spread out, not able to talk to each other without talking loudly – and we didn't want to do that.

The girls were coming down the aisle – all of them separated from each other as well. The only difference was that Kaylynn, Kenzie, and Vanessa were sitting with random people, and Mari had been seated next to me.

Once she found her seat, her eyes locked on mine and I saw her swallow thickly. She still scooted past me and sat down though, staring aimlessly at the tarmac outside so she didn't have to look at me again. I couldn't help but sigh softly, but I didn't say anything.

Not until we were in the air, that is.

The plane was quiet – despite being a full flight, everyone was either asleep or minding their own business. I could hear a few soft voices here and there, but they were clearly people who knew each other and weren't those making mindless small talk with the stranger next to them.

I then looked over at Mari. She wasn't asleep yet, but she did have her elbow resting in the window and her chin in her hand, obviously drifting in and out. And as much as I didn't really want to disturb her, I knew this was probably the only time we'd be as alone as we could get for a while.

"Mari," I whispered, leaning on the armrest between our seats.

"Hmm?" she hummed, probably forgetting it was me she was sitting by.

"Mari," I repeated just as lowly, putting my hand on her knee and rubbing her skin gently, "I know you're tired, but we need to talk."

Mari swallowed again as she opened her eyes, looking at me but not moving away from the window. I took a deep breath and just started talking.

"Kaylynn said you've been kind of out of it since after your set and I just wanted to say I'm sorry for pushing you the way I did," I sighed, "I get that we're friends – well... I like to think we are, anyway – but I shouldn't have just assumed that meant you'd tell me what was bothering you. So... I just want you to know that I'm not mad or anything for the way you reacted, and I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was."

She stared at me for a moment before surprising me by quickly leaning toward me. She couldn't exactly hug me, but she did the best she could – her head on my shoulder and her arms around my waist – holding onto me tightly. She didn't say anything – not that she needed to – and my arm snaked in between her and her seat so I could hug her back the best I could. I rubbed her back lightly, just until I felt her grip loosen.

I thought she was going to sit back in her seat, but when I heard soft snores being muffled by my jacket, I couldn't help but grin. I moved my hand from her back, bringing it up so I could run my fingers through her hair. I heard her sigh in content, her arm falling onto my lap in her unconscious state. I laid my head on hers and closed my eyes. I didn't fall asleep though, knowing there were only about 30 minutes left in our flight and I just wanted to enjoy this moment without anyone else teasing me about it.

~

Half an hour later, Mari was still asleep on me. I didn't know whether or not she would have fallen asleep on one of the other boys had she been sitting with them, but to be honest, I didn't want to think about it. I knew it would just bring back the ache in my chest and she was already with me, so I figured it was best not to let my mind wander.

But unfortunately, when the flight attendant announced that we'd be landing in 5 minutes, I had to wake Mari up.

"Mari," I whispered – just as I had done before – shaking her leg gently. She didn't wake up right away, so I gradually shook her a little harder until she finally started stirring.

Mari whined softly, the sound still muffled by my jacket. I couldn't help the grin on my face – she was about as easy to wake up as Michael was now that I thought about it.

"I know you're tired, but the plane lands in 5 minutes," I told her, "And as much as I want to, I can't carry you until we get to the hotel."

"But you want to, so why not do it anyway?" she murmured, burying her face further into my shoulder, her arms wrapping back around my waist.

"Because I don't think I could get you down the hallway without running into everything," I chuckled, "But you can hop on my back instead if you want – you just have to wake up now though." She sighed, her breath tickling the hair on my neck, before sitting up.

"Bribing isn't nice," she said softly, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"Sorry, Mar," I grinned, patting her thigh before bringing my hand back to my lap.

"No, you're not," she pouted.

"I am!" I insisted quietly so I didn't disturb anyone, "I enjoyed being your travel pillow."

"At least I'm guaranteed the same travel pillow every time if you actually were one," she sassed, "There's no way I'm napping on some random ass dude on every other flight."

"Well, if that's ever the case, I'll just beg the random ass dude to switch seats with me."

"My hero," she rolled her eyes, leaning over so she could look out the window. I saw her eyes widen slightly, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. It was close to one in the morning, but the lights of the city were on and it was obvious Mari was mesmerized by them.

"You ever been here before?" I asked.

"Of course not," she giggled, "I'd never be able to afford something like this. It took me three years just to save up enough to move to a crappy apartment in London. I thought after I was finally able to move into the place I have now, I'd start saving up for trips to other countries. Then the music thing happened and I was putting all my time into that when I wasn't at work. But I like to think it all worked itself out."

"Yeah," I said under my breath, watching her in awe, "Yeah, it did."

"Attention, passengers," one of the flight attendants announced over the intercom, "We are about to begin our descent in just a few short moments, so please buckle your seat belts, return your tray tables to their upright positions, and enjoy your stays in Italy."

We all did as instructed and a couple minutes later, we were touching the ground. It took a few more minutes before the door opened and we were allowed to exit the plane. We hadn't brought anything onto the plane that we put in the overhead compartments, so we just waited for everyone else to get what they needed and head to the door.

"Hey," I said, grabbing Mari's arm before she got too far away from me after we made it into the hallway, "I believe you and I had a deal."

Mari giggled softly, moving her bag to rest more on her back before jumping up onto mine. I hooked my elbows under her knees and she wrapped her arms around my neck as I carried her toward the terminal to find the rest of our bands. She laid her head on my shoulder and I heard her yawn – though it sounded like she was really trying not to. I grinned – feeling my heart skip a beat as her breath tickled my ear – and just held her tighter.

When I got into the terminal, I started looking for our friends. I found them at the baggage claim, but not before they already saw me. I noticed Michael nudge Kaylynn and she looked over her shoulder. She said something I couldn't hear, but it made everyone else turn to look as well.

"Glad to see you two made up," Michael snickered when I was finally in hearing range.

"Well, she was mad I woke her up before we landed," I said, "This is my punishment."

Mari let out a breath of amusement, letting me feel her smile against my skin. She didn't do anything else though, not letting anyone know she was still awake.

"You know you're gonna have to wake her up again so she can get in the car, right?" Kenzie laughed, "Then who knows what your punishment will be for doing it twice in a row."

"Maybe she'll go easier on me the second time around," I mentioned.

I felt one corner of Mari's mouth curl up, giving me my answer: She wasn't. I sighed slightly, but smiled as well, looking at the conveyor belt behind everyone.

"If you guys could not miss our bags, that would be great," I stated. Their heads snapped over, immediately rushing to get their bags as well as mine and Mari's.

Luckily, with it being nearly 1:30 in the morning, there weren't too many fans waiting outside. But since I knew they'd be asking for autographs and photos, I had to have Mari get off of my back sooner than I wanted. She, of course, whined softly, but did it anyway, sliding down until her feet hit the tacky airport carpet.

"Hate you," she mumbled.

"At least you're talking to me again," I smiled, going to take our bags from Ashton and Kenzie. When I returned to her side, I noticed Mari's expression had fallen slightly. I was about to ask her what was wrong, but she beat me to speaking.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier," she whispered so quietly that, in the business of the airport, I almost didn't hear it.

"Mar, that wasn't your fault," I assured her, "I was the one who pushed you to talk about something you clearly didn't want to talk about. I don't blame you for getting mad at me."

"I didn't have to yell at you," she mumbled.

"But you did," I shrugged, "And I'm not blaming you, so you shouldn't either." She didn't say anything else, but I couldn't tell if she understood that it wasn't her fault or if she just felt like arguing about it with me would be pointless.

Instead, we all just went outside, talked with fans for a few minutes, and got in the cars that were taking us to our hotel. We were with our own bands, so I didn't get to talk to Mari again that night. And all I could do at this point was hope she wasn't still beating herself up over what happened at the venue. 

~

Title: "Waste the Night" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	9. When You Change Your Mind, I'll Be Waiting

Mari's POV

When I woke up later that morning, I breathed a sigh a relief. I hadn't slept in an actual bed in the last month and it felt nice to finally get a decent night sleep. I stretched, a small noise leaving my mouth.

"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty," I heard Vanessa giggle from her spot in front of the bathroom mirror as she did her makeup.

"Why must you always abuse me like this, Ness?" I stuck my bottom lip out, making her giggle again.

"I do it out of love," she insisted. I rolled my eyes, smiling slightly as I forced myself to get up. We had an acoustic show to play and a meet and greet at a radio station in a couple hours, so I figured I'd better get up so my band and I could get breakfast together.

"Okay," I heard Kaylynn say outside the door, "You pull the blanket off and I'll jump on top of her." Knowing they were talking about me, I walked across the room and pulled the door open before she could knock.

"Already awake," I announced, making her frown.

"Damn it," Kaylynn sighed, "It was gonna be so funny."

"And this is what Mari looks like after just waking up," Kenzie snickered. It wasn't until then that I realized her phone was in her hand and she was recording what was supposed to be them waking me up.

"Yes," I nodded, looking at the camera, "It's one of the Seven Wonders of the World and probably the reason I can't keep a boyfriend for more than eight months."

"Yeah, that's the reason," Vanessa snorted. I rolled by eyes again, flipping her off as I passed the bathroom and making her laugh again.

~

When we arrived at the radio station, we were greeted with 5SOS fans lining the sidewalk. A few people asked for photos and autographs from my band as well, but there obviously weren't a lot of people there who knew us. We were fine with it though, not quite used to fans crowding outside of places we were making appearances at yet. The girls and I were taken to a room to wait for the live performance for contest winners, and the boys joined us a few minutes later.

"Michael!" I groaned when he sat himself down on top of me as I sat on the couch. I barely noticed Ashton and Luke chuckling as they came through the door while Calum just looked in our direction quizzically.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mari! I didn't see you there!" he said obnoxiously but not getting up.

"I find that hard to believe," I stated, trying to shove him off a few times before just giving up.

"Yo, Mike!" Kaylynn called from across the room, "You mind getting your ass off our drummer?! We kinda need her arms for the rest of the tour!"

"My muscles are the only thing I'm in the band for," I bragged, flexing them slightly. Michael laughed as he finally stood back up. I breathed a dramatic sigh of relief. "I think you need a shower, Mikey," I commented. He smiled evilly at me, and my eyes widened as I grinned. "Michael, don't even thi-" Michael cut me off, jumping back onto the couch beside me, his hands on my sides. I let out a short scream before laughing loudly, desperately trying to wiggle away from him. Luckily though, Gabrielle came to my rescue.

"Lost and Found," she came into the room, smiling as she rolled her eyes at Michael's antics, "You're on in 5." Michael was forced to get off of me once again, holding his hands down to me after standing up. He pulled me to my feet, only to have me put my hands on his cheeks.

"Still need a shower," I said, patting his cheek before following Gabrielle and the rest of my band out of the room, hearing Michael laugh behind me.

~

15 minutes later

"We don't usually do this one live, but we thought we'd make an exception this one time," Kenzie told everyone as she introduced the next song. They clapped excitedly as she went on, "How many of you guys know the song Oops we did with Charlie Puth?" There was more clapping and even a few cheers, making us grin. "Well, if all of you guys sing along, we might have a special guest come out and sing Charlie's part since he's not here," she said, "Do you think you can do that?" Everyone nodded and we all looked at Kaylynn. She took a breath so she could start whistling and then Vanessa came in with her guitar before I began singing.

[Mari]

Oops, my baby, you woke up in my bed  
Oops, we broke up, we're better off as friends  
Now I accidentally need you, I don't know what to do  
Oops, baby, I love you

[Kenzie]

It started with "What's up with you?"  
I messed around and got caught up with you  
Yeah, yeah, I don't know what to do  
I've got these feelings like it's nothing new  
Now I can't get enough of you, oh

[Kaylynn]

And when I think about the way you touch my body  
I don't know how long I can wait  
And when I think about the way you touch my body  
This could be my greatest mistake

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

You've got me singing

Oops, my baby, you woke up in my bed  
Oops, we broke up, we're better off as friends  
Now I accidentally need you, I don't know what to do  
Oops, baby, I love you

The small crowd started cheering the moment Luke walked into the room, making him smile as he took his spot between Kenzie and Kaylynn.

[Luke]

We had a good run  
We messed around and had some good fun  
Guess it turns out I lost a good one  
'Cause now I'm wishing every morning would come  
With you next to me, baby

And when I think about the way you touch my body  
This could be my greatest mistake

[Luke, Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

You've got me singing

Oops, my baby, you woke up in my bed  
Oops, we broke up, we're better off as friends  
Now I accidentally need you, I don't know what to do  
Oops, baby, I love you

[Vanessa]

Ooh, I love you  
Ooh, ooh, ooh

[Mari]

Now I accidentally know that you're in love with me too  
Oops, baby, I love you  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Kenzie]

If it was up to me  
I would take a time machine to the day I said goodbye

[Vanessa, Kaylynn]

I lie

[Luke]

Oh, I lie

[Luke, Kenzie]

So can we try again?  
We're official, more than friends  
No, don't you tell me goodbye

[Luke, Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

You've got me singing

Oops, my baby, you woke up in my bed  
Oops, we broke up, we're better off as friends  
Now I accidentally need you, I don't know what to do  
Oops, baby, I love you

[Vanessa]

I love, love, love you

[Luke]

Oh, yes, I love you  
Yeah

[Mari]

Now I accidentally know that you're in love with me too  
Oops, baby, I love you

The song ended and everyone clapped, cheering once again when Luke bowed obnoxiously.

"Whoa, what are you doing out here, Hemmings?!" I asked with a grin, "I thought Ash was doing this song with us!" Luke simply laughed, pushing the back of my head as he walked back out of the room. "Love you, Lukey!" I called after him.

"Love you too, Mar!" I heard him laugh again.

~

Title: "Just Saying" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
Song used: "Oops" by Little Mix ft. Charlie Puth


	10. I'm Not Ready To Run, Can't Let You Go To Waste

Mari's POV

"Are you filming me again?" I heard Calum ask after I watched him look directly at my phone.

"What? Me?" I tried acting innocent, "I would never do that." He stared at me for a moment before looking back down at his guitar, trying to hide the fact that he was smiling.

"You've been spending too much time with Mike," he shook his head, beginning to strum the instrument again.

"You're just jealous because that time isn't spent with you," I scoffed jokingly.

I posted the Snapchat to my story before putting my phone in my pocket and getting up off the couch. I plopped down beside Calum, leaning on his arm and listening to him play. I was always so mesmerized by Calum's guitar playing, obviously being a fan before this tour, but I never thought I'd get to hear it in person – or this close up.

"You're really good," I murmured into his shirt, my eyes closed in content. He didn't say anything, but I could hear him smile.

"You play?" he asked softly.

"No," I chuckled, "I've asked Vanessa to teach me before, but I'm not very good. She's a great teacher, but I just can't pick up on it, I guess."

"It's not that hard once you get used to it," he told me, "You probably just need more practice."

Calum nudged me gently so I would sit up. Once I did, he moved his guitar to sit on my lap. He came over to sit on the other side of me, his arm wrapping around my neck so he could still reach the strings.

"We're gonna go over the basics first," he said, showing me where my fingers needed to go on the neck of the instrument.

Calum tried to help me for about half an hour – bless his heart – but I just wasn't catching on. I think he could tell I was getting upset with myself because every time I grumbled quietly, he would press a reassuring kiss to my cheek and tell me I was doing just fine. Of course, that only made me more nervous, but I kept focus the best I could.

Well, until someone else came into the room, anyway.

"Trying to learn how to play guitar again?" Kaylynn chuckled as she and Ashton came into the room.

"Yeah, and it's going about as well as it did when Vanessa tried teaching me," I sighed. Calum laughed softly in my ear, making my heart skip a beat.

"We'll just try some other time," he said, "You're getting frustrated and it's not easy to learn that way."

"Thanks for trying, Cal, but I think I'm just gonna stick to drums," I shook my head, leaning back on him slightly.

"Well, we just wanted to see if you guys wanted to go walk around the city before soundcheck," Ashton spoke up, "The others are taking naps."

"I'm in," I nodded, getting up, "Don't think Cal could keep up with us though."

"We'll see about that, drummer girl," he laughed again, standing up as well. We waited for him to put his guitar back in its case before setting off on our exploration.

~

A couple hours later, we all got lunch together before heading out for round two. The city was absolutely beautiful – I mean, it's Italy – but I was most excited when we decided to head toward the woods. We had split up into pairs – Kaylynn went with Ashton while I dragged Calum along with me – and we found a random little treehouse somewhere along the way. It was just a large piece of wood wrapped around the trunk about halfway up with a sketchy looking rope ladder, but the little kid in me immediately ran to it.

Calum ran after me, having no idea where I was going, but he followed anyway. I climbed up the ladder as he was about halfway there, smiling happily as I laid down on the wood. I heard Calum grumbling to himself a few seconds later as he struggled to climb it as well, making me grin again. I rolled over onto my stomach so I could look down at Calum. He had almost made it to the top when he looked up, his breath hitching when he saw he was only a couple inches away from my face.

"What's wrong, Rockstar?" I smirked, "Getting tired? Need to go back to the venue?"

"No," he tried not to show his pout, "You just didn't tell me there was going to be any climbing involved. I'm not wearing the proper attire."

"We're wearing basically the same thing," I reminded him, giggling softly as we hadn't even told each other what we were wearing that day but still ended up in jeans, band shirts, and high-top Converse.

"Yeah, because you stole my shirt after Ashton accidentally spilled his drink on you at lunch," pulling at the flannel he'd had to button up so I could change.

"And now you're my hero!" I informed before rolling onto my back so he could enter the treehouse. "Come on, Cal! Where's your sense of adventure?! What fun would the world be if everything was flat and unclimbable?!" Calum flopped down beside me, happy to have something solid to rest on.

"You keep everyone on their toes, Mari, I'll give you that," he admitted, "I do have one question though."

"What's that?" I turned my head to look at him.

"Do you know how to get back to the venue from here?" he asked. I just shrugged nonchalantly. "What does that mean?" he said slowly, propping himself up on his elbow to face me. I simply shrugged again. "You don't know how to get back? And that doesn't worry you?!" he shook his head, "We've got a show in 5 hours! We're supposed to back in 20 minutes for soundcheck!" I smiled at him, pushing a piece of hair off of his face that fell during his ranting.

"You need to loosen up, Cal," I told him, barely catching the way he swallowed thickly when I touched him, "Save the seriousness for the music."

"Music isn't the only thing that needs to be serious," he mumbled.

"What else could possibly need to be serious?"

"Us," he said softly.

My heart skipped a beat, then started pounding as I dropped my arm onto my stomach – is he saying what I think he's saying?

Calum's POV

I couldn't believe I'd basically just admitted to Mari that I like her. I mean, I was going to do it at some point, but I was hoping to be a lot smoother than that. Either way, though, as I watched her reaction – my heart pounding in my throat – I found myself short of breath when I caught her glancing at my lips. So I went for it. I leaned toward her cautiously, testing the waters to see if she would move away. When I paused, I heard her let out a breath.

She suddenly grabbed the back of my head and pulled my face to hers, kissing me roughly. I instantly lost my breath, not expecting her to be the one to take initiative. Clearly, I should have since she'd been that way since the moment I met her – not that I'm complaining about it now.

My left forearm came to rest on her right side, right up against her body, so I could hold myself up, not wanting to fall on top of her – not that I would complain about that either. I felt her smile as she twirled my hair around her fingertips – both of us just taking the moment to enjoy kissing each other.

However, our moment was only cut short.

"Hey!" we heard Kaylynn's voice from below us, "You two lovebirds about done yet?!"

"Yeah!" Ashton added, "We've got soundcheck in 15!" I let out a quiet groan, putting my forehead on hers. I felt her giggle quietly in response to my actions, her fingers still playing with my hair.

"Would be a shame if something happened to your drums before you got back, Mari!" Kaylynn went on when neither of us made a move. Mari turned her head suddenly so she wasn't yelling toward me, and my own head fell against my neck.

"If you put one finger on my drums, Kaylynn Marie, you can kiss that pretty little bass of yours goodbye!" she threatened.

"You wouldn't dare," she growled.

"You've known me for 5 years, Kay; I will!" I heard her sigh and then stomp away, making my stomach shake as I chuckled lowly.

"Don't be late!" Ashton warned us.

"We'll be there, Ash!" I assured him, my voice slightly muffled by Mari's skin. He followed Kaylynn back toward the venue, leaving Mari and I alone once again. "Not looking forward to dealing with no privacy all the time," I commented, pressing a kiss to the base of her neck. Mari laughed softly, moving her hand to my chin and pushing my head back, only to reattach her lips to mine.

"Get used to it, Hood," she murmured, "As soon as we get back to that venue, this is going to be our lives for the next six months."

"And for the months after?" I whispered.

"I like to think we'll have more privacy when we're not all crammed into two tour buses and four hotel rooms," she smirked, "And I live alone, you know." 

"I like the sound of that," I grinned slyly, pecking her lips before sitting up. "But we better be heading back," I sighed.

"I think we could stay for at least 10 more minutes," she commented.

"You think we can find our way back in less than 5 minutes?" I cocked an eyebrow. Mari simply smirked and I fought back my own smile, trying to make it seem like I was upset even though I knew I wasn't doing well. "You know how to get back, don't you?" I asked. Mari giggled with a small nod. "Then why did you let me think you didn't?!" I laughed.

"Because I like watching you squirm," she winked, only making me immediately start tickling her.

~

Title: "Kiss Me Again" by We Are The In Crowd


	11. We Know This is the Way It's Supposed to Be

Ashton's POV

"It happened!" Kaylynn screeched, running into the girls' dressing where both of our bands were hanging out before soundcheck.

"What happened?" Kenzie furrowed her eyebrows as everyone else looked on with the same confused expression.

"It happened!" she repeated, grabbing the singer's shoulders and looking her in the eye, "It!"

"And 'it' is...?" Michael wondered.

"It!" she shouted for the third time, "We all split up and Mari and Calum went together and we hadn't seen them in a while so we went to look for them and we finally found them it was happening!"

"That tells us nothing, Kay!" Vanessa shouted as well, throwing her arms up.

"It..." I finally spoke, putting my hands on Kaylynn's shoulders to get her to calm down. "...meaning they fessed up to each other; Calum was kissing Mari when we found them."

"Finally!" everyone shouted in unison.

~

Calum's POV

"You know Kaylynn probably already blabbed, right?" I mentioned, my thumb rubbing the back of Mari's hand as she played with my fingers. We were walking back through the venue hallways to our dressing rooms, neither of us exactly sure what awaited us when we got there.

"Yeah..." Mari murmured. I lifted her hand up, kissing her knuckles as she looked at me.

"But teasing is just what friends do," I reminded her, "Doesn't mean I'm gonna like you any less." She rolled her eyes, but I noticed a small smile pull at the corner of her mouth as we approached the room.

We could hear everyone talking – not about us, much to our relief – but we knew Kaylynn and Ashton had told them what happened; We weren't stupid, after all. We walked into the dressing room, our bands turning to look at us. They all smiled subtly – their grins only widening when they saw me and Mari's hands linked together.

"Alright, let's get a few things out of the way," Mari stated, releasing my hand and walking across the dressing room, "Yes, we did. It was great. We're not gonna talk about it again. Cool? Cool." She ended her short rant by going into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The group watched the door for a moment before turning back to me. I simply shrugged, turning and going to my own dressing room to get another shirt before they saw my smile.

~

Mari's POV

At the end of soundcheck, Kenzie, Vanessa, and Kaylynn looked at me over their shoulders. I cocked an eyebrow as I put my drumsticks away, shooting them a confused look.

"What?" I asked.

"This is the point where you usually break out into a Disney song," Kenzie reminded me.

"Oh, God," my eyes widened, "What song haven't I done yet?" The girls paused, trying to think of one as well.

"Can I make a request?!" we heard Michael shout obnoxiously as he walked out onstage with Calum right beside him.

"Depends on what it is, Clifford," Kaylynn replied.

"I wanna hear Mari and Calum sing something from High School Musical," he stated.

"Shocking," Vanessa snorted while I just rolled my eyes.

"Mike, I'm not-" Calum started before I cut him off. I hopped up from my seat and trotted toward the two boys.

"Take my hand, take a breath, pull me close, and take one step," I sang, holding out my hand to him with a stupid grin on my face. Calum looked at me for moment before letting out a short laugh. He finally took it, letting me pull him onstage. "Keep your eyes locked on mine, and let the music be your guide."

"Won't you promise me-" Calum sang as we carefully waltzed around the stage.

"Now won't you promise me that you'll never forget-" I went on. "-to keep dancing-"

"-we'll keep dancing-" He sang before we started singing in unison. "-wherever we go next. It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do. And with every step together, we just keep on getting better. So can I have this dance?" 

"Can I have this dance?" he echoed.

"Can I have this dance?" I joined in again.

"Take my hand, I'll take the lead, and every turn will be safe with me," Calum went on, "Don't be afraid, afraid to fall – you know I'll catch you through it all." He sounded so serious as he sang Troy's part, it almost made me choke up a little. But I was able to push the feeling aside and continue without even so much as hinting that I was getting emotional about it. "And you can't keep us apart-"

"Even a thousand miles can't keep us apart," I sang over his voice until we came together yet again, "-'cause my heart is wherever you are. It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do. And with every step together, we just keep on getting better. So can I have this dance?"

"Can I have this dance?" he grinned slightly.

"Can I have this dance?" I rejoined before he stopped so I could go on solo, "Oh, no mountain's too high and no-" Calum came back in. "-ocean's too wide, 'cause together or not, our dance won't stop. Let it rain, let it pour – what we have is worth fighting for. You know I believe that we were meant to be, oh. It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding someone like you. It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do. And with every step together, we just keep on getting better. So can I have this dance? Can I have this dance? Can I have this dance? Can I have this dance? Can I have this dance?"

Calum and I kept dancing, finding ourselves unable to pull away. There was something about the way he was looking at me – a look I hadn't gotten from a guy in a while – and I could feel my face warming up under his gaze. But, to be honest, I could have stared into his eyes all day. Unfortunately though, that wouldn't happen today.

Someone cleared their throat, causing Calum and I to remember that we weren't alone. We looked over at our bands, finding that every single one of them was trying to fight back a smile.

"I hate to ruin the moment," Michael smirked, "But we still have to soundcheck too." He, Luke, and Ashton then came onto the stage as Calum and I smiled shyly at each other.

"I'll find you when we're done," he murmured so no one else heard him. I nodded slightly, my bottom lip caught between my teeth. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before letting go of me and leading me to the side of the stage where the girls were. He grabbed his bass and stepped back to the microphone – allowing me to hear his laugh as the girls dragged me away, already hounding me with questions about Calum and I.

~

Title: "Long Way Home" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
Song used: "Can I Have This Dance" from High School Musical 3: Senior Year


	12. I Wanna Fall So In Love With You and No One Else

Calum's POV; One month later

Once fans caught wind of the fact that there was something going on between me and Mari and photos of us were all over Twitter, it seemed like she started shutting me out. Of course, it wasn't just me – it seemed to be everyone who even remotely knew her – but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hurt. She had a tendency to do this – especially when something was bothering her – and I knew I was risking her getting mad at me again if I egged her on about it, but I couldn't just not try.

I knew Kenzie had gone out with Ashton to explore the city and since she was Mari's roommate for the hotel that day, I decided now would be the best time to go see her. I didn't know where everyone else was but I hoped Mari would be alone, just wanting to talk to her in private.

I went to her hotel room and knocked on the door, waiting a few seconds. I didn't hear anything on the other side, but I knocked again – a little harder this time – pretty sure she hadn't gone out with anybody. I was about to knock a third time before I heard a door open and then Mari hurrying to the door. Half of her hair was tied up on the top of her head, the bottom half half-straightened, clearly in the middle of doing her hair.

"Jesus, Cal," Mari sighed, "I thought somebody was dying."

"Sorry," I smiled shyly, "Should I come back later?"

"Nah, it's fine," she said, moving out of the way so I could come in, "I've looked worse in front of you."

"That's not true," I commented, "You always look beautiful."

"Thanks, Cal, but I've got the snaps to prove that that is not true in the slightest," she replied, but I still saw her blush lightly. She went back into the bathroom to finish her hair and I trailed behind her, sitting on top of the toilet seat. "Whatever's brought you here must be pretty important if you're following me into the bathroom," she cocked an eyebrow at me before turning back to the mirror and beginning to straighten the rest of the bottom half of her hair.

"Well, some people's definition of 'important' may differ, but yeah... It's pretty important to me..." I remarked softly, nervous she really would get upset with me again. The statement made her take the straightener away from her head so she could look at me.

"What's wrong?" she asked, the concern on her face very obvious.

"I just... Ever since people have started talking about us, you've... You've kinda been pushing me away..." I told her, seeing her face fall slightly but I kept going, "And I... I wanna know if there's something I'm doing wrong... Like... Maybe I hug you too much when we're in public or I hold your hand for too long after I pull you out of a crowd or I look at you when we're talking to fans for too long and they start to suspect something or-"

"You're not doing anything wrong, Cal," Mari cut me off with a whisper, turning back to her reflection to continue with her hair – though she was moving much slower than before.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" I asked her, "Even if you just want me to act as a cat who will listen to you rant and not say anything back." She couldn't help but giggle softly before letting the smile fade as she looked at herself.

"I knew this guy once..." she started, "He was pretty upfront about the way he felt about me, but... It was weird, you know? Like, he never wanted to label it – it was like I was committed to the thought of being with him, but all I was to him was arm candy. And this was like, two days after we got the call that we were on this tour and I met him at a show we were playing to celebrate and he seemed really cool and like he was really into me and we started hanging out as much as we could before I left, but... He would never tell other girls he was seeing me... Like, we were definitely dating, but it was like he didn't want to tell people we were." There was a questioning tone in her voice – like she was still confused at the fact. "And I don't know," she shook her head, straightening the last few pieces of her hair, "I guess that was why I got emotional during If You Don't Know – it just reminded me too much of him... If I had known that was gonna happen, I definitely wouldn't have picked that song," she chuckled lightly, turning off her straightener. "So yeah," she said, turning to me and showing me the shy smile on her face, "Sorry I didn't tell you that when you asked... And I'm sorry I got mad at you about it..."

I didn't respond right away, but I did get and wrap my arms around her waist. I felt her let out a breath as her own arms went around my neck and her face found my shoulder, hugging me tightly. We hugged for a couple minutes before I finally spoke again.

"When do you want to label us?" I asked her, "Because I'll be ready whenever you are." I felt her smile slightly, her arms squeezing me.

"You haven't even taken me on a proper date yet," she murmured into my shirt.

"Do you want to go right now?" I asked, pulling back to look at her so she knew I was being serious, "We can go get lunch."

"And then ice cream?" she asked hopefully, making me laugh.

"You are a child," I told her.

"Calum, I sing Disney songs at every soundcheck," she rolled her eyes, "Tell me something I don't know."

"You're very pretty, and I like you a lot, and I hope this date goes by fast because I really want you to be my girlfriend."

"I already knew all those things too," she snickered.

I instantly started tickling her sides, making her squeal loudly but it was quickly cut off by my lips hitting hers. I felt her smile, her hands moving up to my cheeks and holding me there as if I even wanted to be anywhere else.

"I hope it does too, Cal," she whispered into the kiss, making me smile as well and kiss her harder.

~

Title: "Walls" by All Time Low


	13. Too Much of You is Never Enough

Mari's POV; Two weeks later

After our European leg of the tour ended, we were given two weeks off to do whatever we wanted. The boys wanted to go back to Australia to spend time with their families while the girls and I went back home – home being London, of course – because we had written some songs throughout the last three months that we'd been itching to get recorded.

After our two-week vacation, the girls and I were boarding a flight to the States, planning on meeting the boys there. Since we'd have a couple hours to kill before their flight arrived though, we went out shopping and met some fans before time was up and we had to go back to the airport to meet the boys.

I was obviously excited to see them after so long – and honestly, being able to physically kiss Calum again instead of blowing kisses through a phone screen made me that much more impatient. The girls were poking fun at me for being so eager, but I simply ignored them – not my problem I was the only one with a boyfriend.

When the band's flight was announced as arriving, my leg started bouncing nervously. Sure, I'd talked to Calum every day of break, but did that really mean he was as excited to see me as I was to see him? I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so head-over-heels for someone and I was truthfully starting to psych myself out.

But when the flood of people started coming down the hallway and I finally saw Calum again, the smile that overtook his tired expression when we locked eyes made all those thoughts disappear.

Calum quickly broke away from the crowd as I hopped up from my seat, excitedly running to him. He dropped the carry-on bag in his hand just before I jumped up so he could wrap his arms around my waist while my legs wrapped around his own.

"God, I've missed you so much, princess," Calum murmured into my shoulder, squeezing me lightly.

"I've missed you too, Cal," I whispered, moving my head a bit to kiss his jaw.

"Next time we go on break for that long, I'm taking you with me."

"I like that idea," I told him, "A lot better than the one I came up with about sneaking into your suitcase." Calum's stomach shook as he laughed. He shrugged the shoulder my head was lying on, causing me to pick it up, only to have his lips hit mine. I smiled as I happily kissed him back, making him smile as well.

But – as it happened every time we tried to kiss each other – our friends started gagging obnoxiously until we pulled away. And truth be told, it was starting to get on my nerves.

"So what?" I asked suddenly, returning to my feet to look at everyone, "Just because you guys are all miserable and lonely or whatever, I'm not allowed to kiss my boyfriend?"

You could feel the mood shift instantly, everyone looking at me as if I were wrong to be annoyed about it. Calum, sensing how peeved I was, quickly picked up his bag and ushered me toward baggage claim before Michael inevitably made some sarcastic remark and made things worse.

"Have you had coffee yet?" he asked me as we stopped in front of the carousal. I cocked an eyebrow at him and he continued as if he already knew what I was going to say. "Your fuse seems shorter than normal," he commented, "You tend to get more agitated with everyone when you haven't had any coffee."

"I don't think asking for 5 minutes with you without some stupid gesture being done to ruin it is asking for too much, Calum," I grumbled.

"I'm not saying it is, princess," he shook his head, "I'm just saying you should tell people it annoys you before it's too bottled up."

"I do," I murmured, "No one ever listens to me."

Calum didn't say anything else – he just wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. My arms immediately went around his waist, my head laying on his chest as we waited for the boys' suitcases.

"How about the next long break we have, you and I go somewhere for a few days?" Calum suggested. I tilted my head up to see him smiling at me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, making me grin as well.

"Where to?" I hummed into his shirt.

"Let's see..." he trailed off, "We could go to a beach in Hawaii or Disneyland in California or back to Europe and visit all the places we didn't get to before."

"Or we could go all of those places," I replied, feeling him smile against my skin.

"Or all of them," he nodded, squeezing me lightly.

~

Title: "Holly (Would You Turn Me On?)" by All Time Low


	14. I Don't Wanna Say Goodbye to Another Night

Mari's POV

"Mari," I heard someone sing, "Time to wake up." I let out a soft whine, turning myself so my back was facing whoever it was – I just woke up from my nap; I can't tell. They chuckled under their breath before pulling the curtain of my bunk open further. "C'mon, princess," they said, letting me know it was Calum, "You're needed for soundcheck."

"Tell Ash to do it," I replied, my voice muffled by my pillow. He laughed a little louder that time.

"I think that defeats the whole purpose, baby girl – you and Ash are completely different drummers."

"I'm better though, right?" I asked, finally turning to lay on my back so I could look at him.

"Of course you are," Calum smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to my cheekbone, "Now, come on. If you get up now, I'll carry you to the stage."

"You really know how to win a girl's heart, Hood," I rolled my eyes but got up anyway.

"Got you out of bed, didn't it?" he smirked.

Calum turned away from me, allowing me to hop onto his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck – careful not to choke him – and laid my head on his shoulder. I reached down when he got to the door, opening it so he could get off the bus and then pushing it closed when he was on the pavement, as well as opening the venue door when he got there. As he was walking through the hallway, I was breathing in and out deeply, apparently worrying Calum.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, his hand squeezing my thigh gently. I didn't directly answer the question –I just pressed a kiss to the skin where his shoulder met his neck.

"You smell good," I murmured, hearing him smile.

"I smell the way I always do, princess," he reminded me.

"Doesn't mean you don't smell good," I sassed, kissing him again. He didn't respond that time, but I did hear him chuckle softly as we entered the room where the stage was.

~

Later that night

We had just finished our third song and went into the talking bit. This was the second time we had a crowd of well over 10,000 people and we were absolutely ecstatic. Being on the tour for a few months before we hit the United States, a lot more people were now fans of our band and could actually sing every word of our songs with us – and we loved hearing our lyrics screamed back at us.

"You all sound amazing, by the way!" Kenzie chirped, making the crowd cheer.

"Yeah! We're so relieved as well!" Vanessa nodded, "I think every other country's perception of America is that they're lazy."

"I think that's just because our American is," Kaylynn snickered.

"I'm putting in my resignation – effective immediately," I stated as everyone laughed along, "I don't wanna be in this band anymore. If anyone in the crowd is a drummer and you feel like putting up with daily verbal abuse, find one of them-" I motioned to the three girls in front of me. "-after the show because I quit."

"You can't quit until after this song, Mar," Kenzie giggled.

"Yeah, you've been waiting to do this one since we started this tour," Vanessa chimed in.

"You guys didn't even let me pick my solo! The song is about an American girl, I'm an American girl... I think I should have gotten to pick my solo," I said, making the crowd scream as they now knew what song we were doing for we 5SOS cover.

"We gave you your favorite solo anyway!" Kenzie defended.

"You can quit after this song," Kaylynn repeated Kenzie's previous statement with a grin, "We'll do the rest of the show acoustic and then find a new drummer."

"You're gonna find a new drummer before tomorrow night's show?" I couldn't keep myself from smiling anymore.

"Or Ashton can fill in until we find one."

"Hey, Ash!" I called, looking over at where the boys were standing, "You wanna do that?!"

"No, thank you!" he shouted back since he wasn't in my line of view, giggling lightly, "I'm good!"

"See?" I grinned cockily, "He doesn't want to do it."

"Fine – we'll stop making fun of you then," Kaylynn shook her head.

"No, you won't," I rolled my eyes, beginning to tap the pedal under my foot to start the song.

"We love you, Mar," Vanessa sang as she and the other girls started playing as well.

"We wanna hear you guys, okay? As loud as you can!" Kenzie addressed the crowd, "We know you know this one!"

[Kenzie]

I love that accent you have when you say hello  
You relocated from New York a month ago  
That minivan that you drive really gets me going  
And if it feels like it's right, then it can't be wrong

[Vanessa]

No one understands the chemistry we have  
And it came out of nowhere

[Kenzie, Kaylynn] 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Vanessa]

It's not like we planned this, it's getting out of hand  
And now we're gonna go there

[Kenzie, Kaylynn]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Walk my way, Mrs All American  
Say my name, no need to pretend  
Don't be shy, Mrs All American  
I'll show you why you're not gonna walk away

[Vanessa]

Yeah

[Mari]

Not just a neighbor, oh hey there, I'll ring your bell  
Open your door, pucker up, and I'll kiss you well  
My lips are sealed, there's nobody that I would tell  
Your secret's mine, close your eyes, and I'll make you melt

[Vanessa]

No one understands the chemistry we have  
And it came out of nowhere

[Kenzie, Kaylynn] 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Vanessa]

It's not like we planned this, it's getting out of hand  
And now we're gonna go there

[Kenzie, Kaylynn] 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Walk my way, Mrs All American  
Say my name, no need to pretend  
Don't be shy, Mrs All American  
I'll show you why you're not gonna walk away

[Vanessa]

Oh, yeah

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Na na na na na na na na

[Mari]

You know what she like

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Na na na na na na na na

[Mari]

You know what she like

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Na na na na na na na na

[Mari]

Naaaa, you know what she like

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Na na na na na na na

Walk my way, Mrs All American  
Say my name, no need to pretend  
Don't be shy, Mrs All American  
I'll show you why you're not gonna walk away

[Mari]

Walk my way

[Vanessa]

Oh, yeah

[Mari]

Say my name

[Kaylynn]

You're not gonna walk away

[Mari]

Don't be shy  
I'll show you why

[All]

You're not gonna walk away

~

Title: "Waste the Night" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
Song used: "Mrs All American" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	15. We'll Never Be As Young As We Are Now

Calum's POV; Two weeks later

"I think they're listening to the song," Luke mentioned as we approached the girls' dressing room, hearing Girls Talk Boys blasting through whoever's phone they were using.

"This is probably a Snapchat moment," Michael said, "Do we really want to interrupt it?" We all looked at each other for a moment and then he spun around. "Of course we do!" he exclaimed, grabbing the door handle and opening it suddenly.

The girls were all jumping around and singing along, laughing when they realized we were there but continuing to sing anyway. As expected, Kenzie and Vanessa were recording the whole thing, pointing their phones at us as the second verse started.

"When you're talking to your girls, do you talk about me?" we instantly started singing along, coming into the room. As soon as I reached Mari, she grabbed my cheeks and dramatically sang the next line with the straightest face she could.

"Do you tell them I'm your lover? I'm all that you need?" she kissed my nose, making me laugh loudly. I put my hands on her sides and tickled her, causing her to squeal loudly and let go of me. Since the next line was almost over, I just sang along to the last line in the verse.

"Do you tell them that you love me the way that I've been loving you?" I grinned at the sound of Mari's laugh, stopping tickling her so I could kiss her cheek. I felt her smile before pulling away, keeping my arms around her waist and pulling her back against my chest.

"You guys!" Kenzie beamed as Kaylynn paused the song on her phone, "The new song is so good!"

"Thank you," Ashton chuckled, "We're really glad you like it so much."

"How do you guys even know the words already anyway?" Michael asked, "It's only been out for a couple hours."

"It's like you don't know us, Clifford," Kaylynn scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Just because you guys forget your lyrics all the time doesn't mean other people do too," Mari sassed – which probably wasn't the best choice considering my arms were still wrapped around her.

I immediately started tickling her again, making her squeal even louder than the first time I did it. She tried to force my hands away from her – and although she was putting up quite an impressive fight, I was still a lot stronger than her, so she just resorted to begging.

"C-C-Cal, s-sto-stop!" she giggled breathlessly, making me smile.

"You know what you have to do to stop it," I teased. Silently admitting defeat, Mari turned her head and pressed her lips to mine. I chuckled softly, finally ceasing the attack so she could catch her breath.

"You're insufferable," she tried to tell me without grinning but she still couldn't hide it.

"I know," I smiled, kissing her forehead and bringing her back to me for a hug.

~

Mari's POV; Later that night

"Madison Square Garden!" Kenzie beamed at the crowd, "How are you guys doing tonight?!" The crowd screamed in response as she went on, "We are so lucky to be here with you all!"

"And lucky that you all know our songs as well," Kaylynn shook her head, "It would be really embarrassing if you didn't."

"I mean, everyone knows who they really came to see tonight," I added.

"Yeah," Vanessa giggled, "5 Seconds of Summer who? We all know they're just closing for us." We all laughed as the audience seemingly cheered in agreement.

"For real though – how many of you know all of our songs?" Kenzie asked, earning even louder screams than before. "Well, we feel like enough of you do, so what do you guys say we get a little weird for this next one?" They cheered again and she raised her hands up. "We need you all to clap your hands, okay?" She started clapping and they mimicked her, the entire stadium filling with the echoes of their claps. "Good!" she smiled, "Now keep that going and don't be afraid to get weird with us!"

[Kenzie]

When I was just a little kid, I was sitting on the garden wall  
Well, I must've bumped my head 'cause I don't dance the same no more

[Mari]

And now I step out of the crowd and I party on the other side  
And ain't no uptight sucker gonna tell me how to live my life

[Kenzie, Kaylynn, Vanessa]

We're gonna get weird all night  
I said, "Now, let's get weird all night"

Weird people on the dance floor  
We're just doing what we came to do  
'Cause we're all weird people and we love it  
Don't let them other suckers hate on you  
'Cause we're all weird people and we're shaking  
From the basement to the roof

You know the people on the bus and the people on the street  
People like you and the people like me  
Weird people

[Vanessa]

Let's get weird

[Kaylynn]

I see a slick city boy with his fellas hanging by the bar  
He got the money and the Benz, but it don't mean a thing at all

[Kenzie]

Well, mister, let me tell you this: you can get a little weird for free  
'Cause it don't matter who you are, you can be who you wanna be

[Kenzie, Kaylynn, Vanessa]

We're gonna get weird all night  
I said, "Now, let's get weird all night"

Weird people on the dance floor  
We're just doing what we came to do  
'Cause we're all weird people and we love it  
Don't let them other suckers hate on you  
'Cause we're all weird people and we're shaking  
From the basement to the roof

You know the people on the bus and the people on the street  
People like you and the people like me

[Kenzie, Vanessa]

Well, there's something 'bout that boy  
There's something 'bout that boy

[All]

I ain't doing nothing wrong, baby; I'm just feeling myself  
I'm just gonna twerk it out like I ain't afraid for my health

[Kenzie, Kaylynn, Vanessa]

We're gonna get weird all night  
I said, "Now, let's get weird all night"  
We're gonna get weird all night  
I said, "Now, let's get weird all night"

Weird people on the dance floor  
We're just doing what we came to do  
'Cause we're all weird people and we love it  
Don't let them other suckers hate on you  
'Cause we're all weird people and we're shaking  
From the basement to the roof

[All]

You know the people on the bus and the people on the street  
People like you and the people like me  
Weird people!

~

A little while later, right before we did our cover for that night, we went into our talking bit.

"So, we know this isn't technically a 5SOS song, but we really wanted to cover it anyway," Kenzie announced, "And since we're here at a sold out MSG show, we figured this would be the perfect time for it!"

"We're mostly just covering it because Mari has a crush on the ONE OK ROCK boys," Vanessa giggled. The crowd screamed loudly, realizing what song we were leading into.

"Can you blame me?" I scoffed, making everyone laugh.

"Why don't we ask Calum what he thinks about that?" Kaylynn snickered.

"Calum knows how I feel about them," I reminded her.

"Yeah, he has to deal with listening to their music all day," Kenzie said, "Everyone knows that if at least one of their songs can't be heard on Mari's Snapchat story, you're not actually watching Mari's Snapchat story."

"You're all just mad because I won the rock, paper, scissors thing for Ashton's solos," I said.

"Because they're the best parts of the song!" Kaylynn argued.

"I would argue that all of the parts are the best parts of the song," I shook my head.

"Yeah, because you got his solos!" Vanessa giggled.

"Well, how about you just win rock, paper, scissors next time then?" I replied, sticking my tongue out at her – a gesture she happily returned.

"When we have to start recycling covers, we'll switch up the solos," Kenzie shook her head with a laugh.

"I vote we just move on to another band," Kaylynn suggested, "A better one than 5SOS, even."

"Well, that narrows it down," I scoffed, "Every band is better than 5SOS."

I looked over at the boys and found Michael flipping me off, making me lean away from my mic so I could laugh loudly. I blew him a kiss and he jokingly caught it, smacking Calum's cheek lightly as if he were giving it to him. Calum shoved his best friend playfully while I rolled my eyes with a smile, turning back to the crowd.

"Anyway," Kenzie giggled, "You guys are gonna sing with us, right?" The crowd obviously screamed in response and I started hitting the pedal under my foot to begin the song.

[Vanessa]

Take what you want  
Take what you want and go  
Take what you want  
Take what you want and go  
Take what you want  
Take what you want and go

[Kenzie]

Come and gone, the perfect storm  
On and on, never ending  
Open doors, empty arms  
Don't look back, no pretending

[Kaylynn]

I don't want anything in our broken home  
Not the memories or the things we own  
Not the picture of us on the wall  
So take what you want

[Kenzie, Kaylynn, Vanessa]

Can you hear me? I'm trying to hear you  
Silence strikes like a hurricane  
I'm singing for you; you're screaming at me  
It's hard to see your tears in the pouring rain

[Vanessa]

Take what you want  
Take what you want and go  
Take what you want  
Take what you want and go  
Take what you want  
Take what you want and go  
Just go now, just go, go, go

[Kaylynn, Kenzie]

Still remember a time when you felt like home  
You and me up against the great unknown  
You were my life, now you're out of my life  
Yeah, I guess that's life

[Mari]

Can you hear me? I'm trying to hear you  
Silence strikes like a hurricane  
I'm singing for you; you're screaming at me  
It's hard to see your tears in the pouring rain

[Vanessa]

Take what you want  
Take what you want and go

[Kenzie, Kaylynn, Vanessa]

Take it, no reason for me to hold on

[Mari]

Look in my eyes and I'm letting go

[Kenzie, Kaylynn, Vanessa]

Keep it, don't need it, don't need it, don't need it

[Mari]

Take what you want  
Take what you want and go

[Kenzie, Kaylynn, Vanessa]

Can you hear me? I'm trying to hear you  
Silence strikes like a hurricane  
I'm singing for you; you're screaming at me  
It's hard to see your tears in the pouring rain

[Mari]

I don't want anything in our broken home  
All the memories or the things we own

[Vanessa]

Take what you want  
Take what you want and go

[Kenzie]

Can you hear me?

~

Title: "Never Be" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
Song mentioned: "Girls Talk Boys" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
Songs used: "Weird People" by Little Mix  
"Take What You Want" by ONE OK ROCK ft 5 Seconds of Summer


	16. I Wish I Could Save You from the Pain You've Been Through

Calum's POV; Two weeks later

"I never thought I'd say this, but I've really missed Indiana," Mari sighed, looking out the plane window as we landed in her hometown. We all laughed lightly before I patted her knee and unbuckled my seatbelt when the light went off to grab our carry-on bags from the compartment above us.

When we were finally allowed off the plane, the group went to baggage claim before heading outside. We all piled into the two Ubers Mari and Kenzie had called for while we got our luggage and we all set off for the 15 minute ride to Mari's house. She was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement while I just smiled slightly and watched the houses we were passing by.

The moment Mari's house came into view, she squealed loudly. Everyone else in the car jumped a bit, making her sink in her seat slightly.

"Sorry," she smiled guiltily, earning a simple chuckle from the rest of us.

Once we were all out of the cars, Mari led us to the front porch of her house. As she dug through her bag for her house key, she spoke again.

"Sorry if my mom starts crying," she mentioned, pulling the key out, "She gets really excited when I come home." We all nodded understandingly with smiles on our faces as she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

She put her finger to her lips as a signal for us to be quiet, wanting to surprise her mom before she knew we were there. Unfortunately though, we were busted.

"Mawi!" we heard down the hall. Mari's head shot up and the brightest smile appeared on her face as a toddler ran to her as fast as he could.

"Ashy!" she beamed, dropping her bags so she could pick up the little boy and toss him up into the air. She immediately caught him and held him on her hip, pressing kisses all over his face.

"Too wet, Mawi!" he giggled.

"Oh, I get it," Mari sighed dramatically, "Now that you're 4, you don't like when I kiss you anymore."

"Nuh-uh!" he insisted. She grinned at him and he smiled back, wrapping his arms tightly around her neck. "Miss you, Mawi," he told her, his voice muffled slightly by her skin, "When you come home?"

"You know I live in London now, bud," she said softly, but we could hear the sadness in her voice.

"But London too far," he pouted.

"I know," she kissed the side of his head, "But I promise that once this tour is over, I'll come visit you a lot more, okay?"

"Asher?!" we heard a woman call out in a panic as she rushed around the corner. The moment she rounded it and saw Mari, she froze, a wide grin spreading across her face not even a second later. "Mari!" she exclaimed, wrapping her and the little boy in a tight hug, "You said your plane landed tonight!"

"How was I supposed to surprise you if you knew what time my plane was landing?" Mari jokingly rolled her eyes.

"I should have known you were up to something," the woman laughed, shaking her head as she released her.

"Oh, c'mere!" Mari chirped, taking the woman's hand and bringing her toward us, "You already know the girls, but this is Michael, Calum, Luke, and Ashton-" She pointed to each of us as she said our names. "-Guys, this is my mom Lorraine and my brother Asher."

"Please, call me Lori. It's so nice to finally meet you boys! Mari talks about you all the time – especially you," she smiled at me. I grinned back shyly, feeling my face getting warmer. Mari cleared her throat, causing Lori to look at her as she raised her eyebrows. "Oh, right," she nodded, turned back to me, "Wasn't supposed to mention how she never seems to shut up about you." I glanced at Mari and noticed her face was bright red at this point, making me chuckle.

"Why do you look like the people on the posters in Mawi's room?" Asher suddenly looked over at the rest of us. The boys and I snorted softly while Mari sighed.

"Thanks, kid," she shook her head and he frowned.

"Mawi mad?"

"I won't be if you give me a kiss," she replied. He immediately leaned in and pecked her cheek, making her smile. "You're off the hook," she told him, making him smile as well.

"Oh!" Lori chirped, "How about I show you where to put your bags and then we'll give you all the grand tour?"

"Can't we just leave 'em in here, Lori?" Kenzie asked, "It seems like a lot to put them in another room just to bring them back out when we leave for the hotel."

"Have you guys booked one yet?" she asked, to which we all shook our heads. "Then don't be ridiculous, Kenz! You're obviously staying here!" she insisted.

"Are you sure?" Ashton asked her, "This is a lot of people."

"Of course I'm sure! You're not going to spend money on a hotel when you can just stay here for free!" she grinned, "All I ask is that you're not too loud after Asher's bedtime."

"Done," we all chuckled simultaneously.

~

After getting a 'grand tour' of the house, Mari had to put Asher down for a nap – which obviously meant we couldn't do much. Kenzie and Kaylynn went out with Michael, Ashton, and Luke to explore the city, telling Mari one of them would call if they got lost, while Vanessa went to the guest room to take a nap herself. I simply waited for Mari in the backyard, sitting down on the hammock in the back corner of the yard as I quickly checked Twitter on my phone.

When the sliding glass door opened, I looked up to find Mari coming outside. I put my phone back into my pocket before she reached me, sitting herself down beside me. Despite the fact that it was nearly 95 degrees out, she cuddled right up against me, her head laying on my shoulder.

"Sorry we're here in the middle of summer," she murmured into the skin that wasn't covered by my shirt, "We can go back inside if you want."

"It's okay," I chuckled, kissing the top of her head, "I'm used to hot summers."

"Your band doesn't count," she snickered, squeaking when I started tickling her sides. She giggled breathlessly until I stopped, and it was quiet for a couple minutes until I spoke again.

"So why haven't you ever mentioned your family before?" I asked.

"I have," she stated nonchalantly.

"I have never heard you say the words 'mum' or 'brother' or the names Lori or Asher since the day I met you," I cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, that's probably because I don't say 'mum'," she shrugged, but I could tell she was becoming shyer and shyer.

"Mar," I said softly, putting my fingers under her chin and lifting her head up so she would look at me. I could tell she knew I knew she was lying, making her shift her gaze to something else. "Princess," I said, knowing it would get her to meet my eyes again. And it did as she sighed.

"I'll spare you the entire sob story of poor little Mari nearly being tossed into the foster care system," she replied with a shake of her head, "When I was 8, my mom left and my father was going through some stupid shit that made a judge decide he was unfit to take care of me anymore. I lived with my Aunt Lori and Uncle Kevin for a few years, but when my aunt decided she wanted to adopt me officially before I entered high school, my uncle freaked out and left too. I was almost put into foster care, but then my aunt started working two part-time jobs to prove that she could take care of me on her own and I've legally been her daughter ever since. I've always called her my mom – she's always been my mom, she'll always be my mom. That's why I wear this all the time," she said, tugging at the heartbeat necklace resting below her collarbones, "Before I moved to London, she and Asher gave me this so I always have this to remind me of them. It's the first thing I look at when I look in a mirror and it's the last thing I touch before I fall asleep; It's my way of always feeling at home."

I looked at her for a moment, not really knowing what to say. So instead of saying anything at all, I just tightened my hold on her shoulders and pressed my lips to the side of her forehead. I felt her smile and wrap her arms around my waist, not saying anything either, but we both knew that not speaking was just as okay.

~

Title: "Listen" by ONE OK ROCK


	17. I Made a Promise That I'll Come Home Soon

Calum's POV; Later that night

That night – around 10 – the excitement and activities of the day started to wind down. Lori put Asher to bed before going to bed herself – she'd allowed him to stay up later since Mari was home, but she told us his bed time was usually 8:30. The rest of the group was pretty tired from jet lag, so they all just went to their respective places to sleep not long after Asher was in bed, but Mari and I were still awake.

We were sitting on the living room couch, her legs draped over mine as she was writing in the notebook she jotted her song ideas down in. I tried to peek over a few times, but she just giggled and smacked my arm playfully, moving it so I couldn't see anything she'd written. I couldn't help but smile at the sound of her laugh as I squeezed her thigh lightly. I laid my head back on the cushion, returning my attention to the movie that was quietly playing on TV.

Only a couple more minutes passed before another interruption. We looked over as quiet footsteps came down the stairs, finding Asher rubbing his eyes.

"Mawi sing song," he murmured, clearly almost asleep.

"Still can't fall asleep without someone singing to you, huh?" she smiled, getting up. "I'll be back in a minute," she said. I nodded as she picked the toddler up, grinning slightly as he nuzzled his face in her neck.

I noticed she left her notebook on the couch beside me, contemplating peeking inside. But if I knew one thing about Mari, it was that she hated when people touched her notebook without permission, and I knew that she'd tell me about it when she was ready – if she ever would be. So instead, I waited for a moment – just until I heard Mari reach the top of the stairs – before pausing the movie and quietly following her.

"Do we have any special requests tonight?" I heard her ask as I stopped to sit on the stairs. Asher must have shaken his head, because the next thing I heard was "Same as always then?" He nodded as she sat down in the rocking chair, her feet propped up on the edge of his bed so she could push back and forth lightly. Asher laid his head on her chest, closing his eyes as she started singing as quietly as she could.

Within a minute, I was all packed up  
I've got a ticket to another world  
I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go

The silent words are hard to speak  
When your thoughts are all I see  
"Don't ever leave," she said to me

When we both fall asleep underneath the same sky  
To the beat of our hearts at the same time  
So close, but so far away  
Can you hear me?

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you  
She lies awake, I'm trying to find the words to say  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you

I couldn't stop myself from smiling, leaning my head on the wall next to me – the 'same as always?' comment playing over and over in my head. It was incredible to think about how many times Mari must have sung something I wrote to her brother. And the fact that he clearly liked it enough to always want her to sing it to him made it that much better.

Another day and I'm somewhere new  
I made a promise that I'll come home soon  
Bring me back, I'll bring me back to you

When we both wake up underneath the same sun  
Time stops, I wish that I could rewind  
So close, but so far away

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you  
She lies awake, I'm trying to find the words to say  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you

There are pieces of us both under every city light  
And they're shining as we fade into the night

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you  
She lies awake, I'm trying to find the words to say  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was

Mari looked down to see whether or not Asher was sleeping, smiling softly when she saw he was. She carefully stood up, laying Asher down on his bed. She pulled the blanket over him and kissed his forehead, telling him she loved him before coming out of the room.

"You're not very quiet, you know," she whispered without even looking at me, closing the door behind her.

"How long have you been singing that to him?" I asked as we went back to our spot on the living room couch. She had put her notebook on the coffee table and curled up into my side, my arms around her shoulders and her arms around my waist as she laid her head on my chest.

"Since the first time I came back home after moving to London," she murmured into my shirt, "My mom would always sing to him, but she said it still didn't work the way it did before I left. I would never sing him a specific song – just whatever was stuck in my head that day – but I was visiting during Christmas a few months after I moved and it just made sense to me to sing Beside You to him. Put him to sleep instantly-" I could feel her smile at the memory. "-so every time I come back, I sing him that song as my way of telling him I'll always miss him and love him and I come back as often as I can."

"You guys are the cutest siblings ever," I sighed, making her giggle.

"You and your sister are pretty cute too," she said, tilting her head to look up at me.

"I don't think she'd ever sing me to sleep every chance she got though," I teased, poking her sides gently. She laughed a little louder – but still made sure she was quiet enough not to wake everyone else in the house up – and grabbed my hand, lacing her fingers mine on top of my stomach.

"At least you and Mali can talk to each other without broken sentences and loud whining," Mari replied.

"We still talk to each other like that," I laughed, making her laugh as well.

Her laugh slowly faded before she reached over and grabbed the remote, unpausing the movie on the TV screen. I smiled and shook my head as she returned to her spot on me, waiting until she got comfortable to kiss her head, feeling her smile into my shirt again.

~

Three hours later

We were probably about 15 minutes into our third movie when I started feeling Mari's breathing go from steady to what it normally sounded like, signaling to me that she was trying not to fall asleep. When I realized this, I grinned slightly and kissed her head once again.

"Princess, just go to bed," I chuckled, "I'll be there as soon as this is over."

"No," she whined sleepily, "Wanna sleep with you." I smiled at her softly, reaching for the remote and pausing the movie.

"C'mere," I murmured, taking Mari's hand and tugging on her to her feet before I lied down on the couch. I grabbed the remote and then pulled her on top of me, her face instantly burying itself in my neck. "Better?" I asked. She hummed happily into my skin and I kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, princess," I whispered. She tried to say it back, but her words only came out as a jumbled mess since she was practically already asleep. I chuckled lightly and unpaused the movie on the TV screen, listening to Mari begin snoring softly in my ear.

~

Title/song used: "Beside You" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	18. Dreaming of the Times I Know I Can't Get Back

Calum's POV; The next morning

I woke up to the sound of a camera shutter, bringing an arm up to rub my eyes. I opened them to find Vanessa kneeling on the floor by the coffee table across from the couch, her eyes widening at her phone screen when she realized someone was awake.

"Hello," she smiled innocently, "Sleep well?"

"Ness, what are you doing?" I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Nothing that Instagram isn't about to see," she snickered. I rolled my eyes as she went on. "You might wanna wake her up," she motioned to the girl on top of me, "I'm pretty sure Michael is awake and will be up here any minute." She then walked out of the room, leaving me sighing.

Michael was never a morning person but when he did wake up before other people, he wasn't exactly quiet. Mari hated being woken up by loud noises, so we always just made sure one of us was the one who woke her up.

"Mari," I murmured, slipping my hands under her shirt to rub her back. She started grumbling softly, letting me know that she wasn't fully awake but that she could hear me. "Gotta wake up now, princess," I told her, kissing the side of her head. She responded by burying her face in my neck, making me smile. "Michael's awake," I informed her, "And you know how much you hate when Michael is the one who wakes you up." She still refused to budge. "Maybe if we get up before Michael, we can sneak out and get breakfast – just the two of us," I offered.

"Stop bribing me, Hood," Mari finally spoke, making me chuckle again.

"Would you rather go to breakfast with everyone?" I countered. I felt her let out a deep sigh before her forearm was lifting her up so she could look at me.

"Hate you," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes with her other hand. I simply grinned, leaning up until my lips met hers.

"Hate you too, baby girl," I whispered into her mouth, causing her to giggle softly before she pulled away and climbed off of me so we could quickly get dressed and out of the house before Michael came upstairs.

~

Later that day

We'd been at the venue we were playing that night for almost two hours now, and I finally got a chance to go outside and meet some fans who were already in line. Kenzie and Vanessa came along while the other boys were with Mari soundchecking Waste The Night for the show later – but more importantly, they were giving the girls and I cover.

"Alright, guys," I said as Kenzie and Vanessa helped pass out papers and Sharpies, "I need you all to listen so you can tell everyone else that arrives after we have to go back inside, okay?" The small group nodded furiously, excited to know what they were about to be a part of. "You know how this is Mari's hometown show, right? Well, she's planning on singing lead on Fight Song tonight and I had this idea that maybe, people who were fans of the girls' band could hold up signs after the bridge about how they've helped you guys or lyrics from the song that mean a lot to you."

"I wish my boyfriend was that sweet," one of the girls mumbled, making everyone around her laugh.

"Yeah, Cal, we can do that! But what's in it for us?" another grinned, obviously joking.

"I won't have you thrown out of the show if word about this gets back to Mari?" I replied, trying not to smile but I knew I wasn't doing a very good job. The girls simply snickered while the same fan laughed.

"I was kind of hoping for selfies and autographs, but I would very much appreciate not being thrown out a lot more," she told me. I simply chuckled again, happily signing everything they asked me to as well taking multiple photos with all of them, before Kenzie, Vanessa, and I headed back inside.

~

Mari's POV

"This song is drilled into my brain already, Luke!" I groaned, throwing my head back, "We don't need to rehearse it anymore! Come on! I'm hungry!"

"It needs to be perfect, Mari!" he exclaimed, "We wouldn't need to rehearse for so long if you'd just cooperate!"

"I am cooperating!" I shouted defensively, "You're the one insisting that I'm doing something wrong even though you know I'm not!"

"Yes, you are! I keep telling you to wait four extra measures to come in, but you keep coming in too early!"

"I don't know where you learned to read music, Hemmings, but I am waiting four measures from the point where the chorus ends," I spat back, "If you want me to wait longer than four, then you need to tack on a couple extra measures instead of acting like I can read your fucking mind."

"Guys," Ashton finally intervened, "There's no need for arguing."

"Ash is right," Michael nodded, "Let's just take a break and cool off, okay?"

"I don't need to cool off," Luke grumbled, not taking his narrowed eyes off of me, "Mari's the one who needs to stop screwing up."

"Well, I'm so sorry for not being a perfect little angel like you, Luke," I laughed bitterly, "I had no idea I would need to be classically trained in music and a goddamn mind-reader just to avoid listening to you bitch and moan all the time." I shoved my microphone back into its spot on the stand where Calum would be. "Maybe you should ask Kenzie or Vanessa or Kaylynn to sing the song with you tonight since I'm sure they're a whole hell of a lot smarter than I am," I told him, pushing past him and walking off the stage.

"Mari!" I heard Michael call after me, but I didn't stop – I just kept walking until I was outside.

Michael's POV

"Really, man?" Ashton rolled his eyes while he and I just stared at Luke in shock. We knew he was having an off day from the moment he woke up, but we didn't think he'd take it out on anyone – especially not Mari.

"She was messing up," he mumbled, earning another eye roll from both of us.

"Then you should have told her to wait five measures instead of four!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms up.

"I told her to wait four measures from the point where Ashton stopped playing the chorus; It's not that difficult to figure out."

"Maybe not for you," Ashton reminded him, "But Mari isn't inside your head – she doesn't know what you want until you tell her."

I don't know what was said after that because I left to go find Mari. I was sure she was upset – not that I'd blame her – and I just had to make sure she was okay. I looked around the entire inside of the venue before asking Bryan to drive me back to Mari's house, not having found her anywhere and hoping she'd just gone home to calm herself down.

When he dropped me off, I told him I'd call him when I was ready to which he nodded and drove away after I shut the door. I jogged up to the front door and went to grab the knob, surprised to find Lori already pulling the door before I'd even turned it.

"Oh, Michael," she laughed, placing her free hand over her heart, "You scared me."

"Sorry," I smiled apologetically, "Hey, uh... You wouldn't happen to know if Mari came back here, would you?"

"No, she didn't," she shook her head, "I was actually just about to go meet her... Is everything okay? I know she was only texting me, but she seemed really upset about something – said she needed someone to talk to."

"Would you mind if I was the one who talked to her instead?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I sighed, "She and Luke just got into it a little during soundcheck and I just want to make sure she's okay."

"Well, sure," Lori nodded, "She said she's at Bru. I'll just drive you there myself – it's too far of a walk."

"Are you sure?" I asked, to which she nodded. "What about Asher?"

"My mom is watching him," she told me, coming out of the house and leading me to her car, "He's only taking his nap though, so they'll be fine."

Upon arriving to Bru – which was a burger place, I found out – we immediately noticed Mari sitting outside, drinking a milkshake. I smiled sadly at the sight of her frown.

"Thanks for the ride, Lori," I said.

"No problem, Mike," she smiled, "Don't let her buy another milkshake." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Will do," I affirmed before getting out of the car, listening to her drive away as I approached Mari. "Hey, kitten," I said, making her head snap up, "You okay?"

"M'fine," she mumbled, looking back down at the drink in front of her.

"That lack of a smile is telling me otherwise," I sighed dramatically, sitting myself down in the seat across from her. The comment didn't make her smile though, so I let out a smaller, more defeated sigh instead. "He's just having a bad day, Mar," I told her, "He didn't mean anything."

"That's not my problem," she fired back, "Just because he's in a shitty mood doesn't mean he gets to take it out on me."

"Well, until we go back to the venue, how about we just not think about it and eat some lunch?" I suggested. Mari let out a soft breath, but I knew she was agreeing. "We can stay here and eat if you want," I told her, "Is the food here any good?"

"Any good?" she scoffed, "These are the best burgers in the world as far as I'm concerned."

"Well, I've been more places around the world than you, so I'll be the judge of that," I smirked, getting up from my seat.

Mari grabbed her milkshake so she didn't have to leave it outside while we waited for our food, coming around the table. I opened the door for her, earning myself a slap to the back of the head as she passed me.

"Mari!" I laughed, following her toward the cash register. She obviously wasn't facing me, but I could tell she finally smiled.

~

Title: "Invisible" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	19. Cracks in the Sidewalk, I'm Over All the Small Talk

Calum's POV; 20 minutes later

After coming inside from meeting fans, I strolled throughout the venue in search of Mari. I was a little puzzled when she wasn't in either of our dressing rooms – where she could usually be found when she wasn't outside with fans herself – but I did my best to remain calm. I didn't want to seem like a clingy boyfriend who always needed to know where his girlfriend was, but as I was running out of rooms to check for her, I couldn't help but feel a panic start to bubble up in my chest at the thought of her going missing.

"Please tell me one of you has seen Mari," I said, hurrying to the stage since I could hear Luke and Ashton talking.

"She's fine, Cal," Ashton assured me as he turned to look at me, "Michael just texted me that they were eating lunch; They'll be back soon."

"She went on a lunch date with someone else?" I frowned, but he knew it wasn't a serious question.

"Yeah," he nodded stoically, his eyes narrowing at the blonde who had yet to speak, "Luke, would you like to tell Calum why Mari went out with Michael?"

"What does that mean?" I cocked an eyebrow, my gaze flicking between the two. Luke didn't even make a motion to say anything, so Ashton went on for him.

"Luke here decided to take his anger out on Mari while we were trying to rehearse Waste The Night," he informed me, "He yelled, she left, and Michael went to go looking for her."

"Why the hell did you do that?!" I exclaimed, throwing my arm up.

"She kept messing up her part," he murmured.

"Well, you certainly weren't helping her with it," Ashton rolled his eyes, "You can't expect Mari to know what you want her to do if you don't tell her."

"She's not a mind-reader, Luke!" I reminded him, "I have bad moods too, but I don't take them out on other people for not being able to just know what I want without me telling them!"

"Whatever," he grumbled, shuffling away from Ashton and I. I waited until Luke was out of hearing range to start talking again.

"How's she doing?" I asked Ashton.

"Not sure," he shrugged, "Michael didn't say anything apart from that they were eating. I can't imagine she's taking it too well though – she told Luke that he should have one of the other girls sing it with them tonight. And you know she doesn't really want someone else to – she practically begged everyone to let her do it." I chuckled softly at remembering how desperate Mari seemed to sing the song with us tonight before letting it fade out. I sighed to myself, just accepting that I wouldn't get to see her until she and Michael got back to the venue.

~

10 minutes later

The group and I – minus Luke, of course – were all sitting around on the stage, talking about anything that came to our minds as we waited for show time. We were in the middle of talking about the upcoming Australian leg of the tour and how excited we were to show the girls our home country when we heard laughter coming up behind us. Mari was riding piggyback on Michael, giggling about something he must have said.

"What's so funny, Mar?" Ashton asked, clearly curious as to what was said that drastically changed Mari's mood from the last time he saw her.

"Why didn't you tell me anything about your time in school, Cal?" she asked with a smirk, making my eyes widen.

"Michael!" I shouted, making him laugh.

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, "She just knows how to get stuff out of me!"

"Well, I, for one, would love to hear these stories that have Mari sent into a giggle fest," Kaylynn cocked an eyebrow with a mischievous grin on her face. I was silent for a moment, prompting Mari to speak again.

"They're gonna find out one way or another," she shrugged, "You might as well be the one to tell 'em."

I rolled my eyes but I couldn't keep the smile off my face as she hopped off of Michael when he reached our little circle and stepped between Ashton and I before moving in front of me and sitting herself down in my lap. She sat down so she was facing me, wrapping her legs around my waist as well as her arms, settling herself against me. My own arms wound around her, hugging her close.

"How are you feeling?" I murmured into her ear as if everyone else wasn't close enough to hear anyway.

"Better," she whispered, nuzzling her face into my neck as I kissed the side of her head.

As Michael, Ashton, and I reminisced on our school days and the times before the band became as popular as it is, I could feel Mari's body shake as she laughed along with everyone. She was pretty quiet throughout the time we were there, but as we were winding down to begin getting ready for the show, she finally spoke again.

"As fun as your embarrassing stories are to hear, I like listening to you talk about music more," she told me.

"Yeah?" I hummed in response, "Why's that?"

"I like how rambly you get-" I could feel her smile. "-when you talk about the first song you ever wrote or your favorite song to play on guitar... I like seeing your face light up when someone asks you how you got into bass or says they started playing because of you."

"If you think he lights up when he talks about music, you should see him when someone mentions you," Michael snickered. Before I could even scold him, I felt her grin again and press her lips to my neck, prompting me to squeeze her gently.

"You're one to talk, Clifford," Kaylynn snorted softly as we all got up, "Have you heard your reaction when someone even suggests food?"

"Are you implying that you don't give the same reaction?" he scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

"No," she stated seriously, "I'm implying that you seem to think you don't."

"No one's blaming you for loving food, Mikey," Mari giggled, her voice slightly muffled from how she had her head on my chest, "We've just noticed that you're very...passionate...about it sometimes."

"We have an entire song about it, you know," Ashton reminded him, "I sing it at every show."

"Ah, yes!" Kenzie chimed in, "The song so brilliantly titled Pizza and containing only one line! How could anyone ever forget your best song?"

"You know what?" Ashton tried not to smile as he grabbed her waist and started tickling her.

"Oh, get a room!" Mari shouted over Kenzie's squeals, "You two are disgusting!"

"You're one to talk, Miss PDA," Vanessa laughed when Ashton and Kenzie finally quieted down.

"I don't make it a secret that I like Calum when we're in public," she reminded all of us, "I make sure everyone knows about it." I rolled my eyes playfully but I definitely wasn't disagreeing with her. "You two are the ones who act like no one can tell," she went on, "You guys stare at each other all the time. I'm pretty sure 'Ashton and Kenzie' has trended on Twitter before!"

"You're just upset because you and Calum have never trended," Kenzie replied with a blush, the gesture of her sticking her tongue out at Mari being happily returned.

"I don't need a Twitter trend to admit to everyone that something's going on," Mari replied sassily, "If I want to remind everyone, I'll just kiss him when paparazzi is around."

"That doesn't count if you already do it anyway!" Michael laughed loudly as Mari wiggled out of my grasp and walked away toward the dressing rooms.

Mari's POV

After coming out of the bathroom in my dressing room, I found all the girls already standing around the clothing racks looking for tonight's outfits.

"Oh, Mari!" Vanessa squeaked, "What were you thinking about wearing tonight?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, stepping in between her and Kenzie to look at the clothing myself, "Maybe that shirt that Kenz wore when we were on Ryan Seacrest – unless someone else is planning on wearing it."

"So your grey Hollister dress is up for grabs?" she asked hopefully, "It's obviously an outdoor show, so I don't wanna be wearing too much and get too hot onstage."

"I told you guys it was going to be hot while we were here," I reminded them with a giggle.

"Yeah, but we didn't think it was gonna be this hot!" Kenzie whined, "This heat is too much! I can hardly even breathe when we go outside!"

"That's why we plan our outfits for the weather and not the season like you guys do in England," I replied, "You basically know what kind of weather you're getting in London – you never know in the Midwest, especially Indiana."

"I'm starting to think that's why you moved," Kaylynn shook her head.

"It is!" I laughed again, "You're just lucky we're not here in winter. I don't think y'all could handle it."

"At least you can put more on than you can take off," Vanessa pointed out, "Americans are very vocal when they see any part of a woman's body they feel is 'inappropriate'."

"Another big reason I moved," I nodded, grabbing Kenzie's striped crop top and a pair of dark blue denim shorts before heading behind our makeshift changing station just in case anyone came into the room while I was changing.

After coming back into the main room, I was digging through our trunk of shoes looking for my all-black Converse when we heard a knock on the dressing room door. Kaylynn shouted for whoever it was to come in – we thought it was Gabrielle, to be honest – and they slowly came into the room.

"Mari," I heard Luke said, making me freeze, "Are... Are you busy...?"

"A little," I grumbled – I was obviously in the middle of searching for shoes, so I was a little annoyed that he had to ask.

"Oh... Well... When you're done, can I... I need to talk to you..." he said softly.

I felt a nudge on my arm, causing me to look over at Kenzie as she was looking for shoes as well. She nodded her head in the direction Luke's voice was coming from, making me finally look over my shoulder. Luke was staring down at his hands as he played with his fingers and I didn't know why, but it made my heart ache for some reason.

I sighed lightly and turned back to the shoe trunk, only to find Kenzie holding up the other shoe I was looking for. A smile pulled at the corner of my mouth and I thanked her before quickly putting both shoes on my feet and tying them.

"We can go if you guys want the room to yourselves," Vanessa spoke up.

"No, we'll leave," I shook my head, getting up from the floor, "You guys finish getting ready." They nodded and went back to doing what they had been while I made my way to Luke.

The walk to wherever Luke was taking me to talk was a silent one – and I had to admit, it was pretty awkward as well considering the fact that we hadn't spoken to each other in a few hours. But the moment we sat down on the catwalk of the stage overlooking the venue that would soon be filled up with fans, he couldn't keep himself quite anymore.

"I'm sorry about earlier..." Luke said, looking at the hands on his lap once again, "I was in a bad mood because... Well, I don't even know why and that's what makes it a thousand times shittier for taking it out on you..." He sighed softly and I heard him breathe in shakily. "I didn't mean to make you feel like you're not smart or that the other girls are better than you at reading music or whatever... I mean... You're the only one of all of us who actually graduated, so you're obviously a lot smarter than any of us..."

"Graduating doesn't mean I'm smarter," I reminded him, making him look at me, "I don't use any of the things I learned in school in my everyday life. So you dropped out? Who cares? You're already doing a lot more than any of the people I went to school with ever will. Dropping out doesn't make you any less smart than someone who didn't," I shrugged, "Just means you knew what you wanted to do with your life sooner than everyone else. And I think it's pretty cool that you actually get to do it."

"So you're not mad at me?" he asked.

"No, I am mad," I nodded, noticing his shoulders slump out of the corner of my eye, "But I forgive you. And the next time you wanna yell at someone for not being able to read your mind, don't." I heard him chuckle lowly just before feeling his arms wrap around my shoulders and pull me into him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured again, sighing in relief when I laid my head on his shoulder and hugged him back.

"I forgive you, Lukey," I repeated, feeling him smile since his face was pressed to the side of my head. He kissed my temple before releasing me.

"You're still gonna sing with us tonight, aren't you?" he started chewing on his inner cheek, "We didn't really need to practice the song anyway... We know you could probably do it in your sleep."

"We could test that theory," I mentioned as we both stood back up, "You'll just have to push it back in your set so I have time to fall asleep." Luke couldn't help but laugh loudly, pulling me back in for another hug before immediately leaning over and throwing me over his shoulder so he could take me back to my dressing room.

~

Title: "Fly Away" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	20. I Kept Raising Hell, Now They Call Me a Queen

Mari's POV

"Where's Luke?" I heard Zoe ask.

"Present and accounted for," he announced as we walked back into my dressing room.

"There you are," she breathed out, flicking her gaze between him and myselfas he put me back on my feet, "Have you guys finished soundchecking?" I glanced up at Luke, but he didn't even look at me.

"It'll be fine, Zo," he assured her, "It's not like we don't know the song." I couldn't help but snort softly, making him grin in response.

"Well, you know, since Mari's taking the second verse, it's not like Calum has to rack his brain to try and remember the words this time," Kaylynn snickered. I laughed a little more loudly that time, leaving them to their conversation to go to the bathroom. By the time I came back out, Luke and Zoe had left and Gabrielle was now in their place.

"You girls all ready?" she asked, to which we obviously nodded. "Great," she said, "You're on in 20."

~

30 minutes later

"Look at all these beautiful people!" Kenzie beamed as her eyes scanned the crowd while they screamed in response.

"Hey, Mar," Vanessa said into her mic as she looked back at me, "Do you know any of them?"

"Ah, let me see," I grabbed my own mic from its stand and got up to stand on top of my drum kit, "I know a lot of them, yeah."

"Don't you wanna say something to them?" Kaylynn asked, making me smile.

"Yeah! So since I'm sure you guys all know Indy is my hometown, I know there's a lot of people I went to school with here tonight," I announced, "And I just wanna say that this song is for you guys!" I couldn't keep myself from grinning as the crowd cheered, clearly having no idea what song was coming up – or...maybe they did.

[Kenzie]

Dear whoever, do you remember?  
It's me, old whatshername  
Can't believe it, you ain't dreaming  
I don't look quite the same

But history repeats itself, I kept making a scene  
I kept raising hell, now they call me a queen  
And you're under my spell, so tell me how does it feel?  
Well...

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

I'm looking down from the skyline  
Dancing on the moonlight  
Can you see my name in the stars?  
Yeah, I bet you won't forget me now

My voice on the air waves  
It's echoing louder and louder  
I bet you won't forget me now  
I bet you won't forget me now

[Vanessa]

Hey whoever, it's been forever  
I know you know my name  
I heard you're still trying to steal my throne  
I guess some things never change

Always knew I'd make it out  
Live a life you dream about  
Now the world's in my hands  
According to plan

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

I'm looking down from the skyline  
Dancing on the moonlight  
Can you see my name in the stars?  
Yeah, I bet you won't forget me now

My voice on the air waves  
It's echoing louder and louder  
I bet you won't forget me now  
I bet you won't forget me now

[Mari]

Said you were gonna run this town  
Now you get high and just drive around  
It didn't happen like you thought it would, yeah  
Hit me up like "Hope you're good  
And can you put me on the list tonight?  
And by the way, I got this clothing line"  
Trying to talk like we're old friends  
But you don't even know who I am

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

I'm looking down from the skyline  
Dancing on the moonlight  
Can you see my name in the stars  
Yeah, I bet you won't forget me now

My voice on the air waves  
It's echoing louder and louder  
I bet you won't forget me now  
I bet you won't forget me now

I bet you won't forget me now  
I bet you won't forget me now

[Mari]

I bet you won't

~

Calum's POV

Another 10 minutes passed and it was finally time for what we all had been preparing for all day. Mari was just sitting at her drum set as Kenzie introduced one last song – she didn't seem suspicious of anything, which was exactly the way I wanted it.

"Since Mari wrote our last song of the night and this is a hometown show for her, we wanted her to do lead vocals," Kenzie explained, "So we're actually going to have Ash come out and play on this one. Is that cool?" The crowd cheered in response and Mari smiled slightly, getting up and stepping out from behind her drum kit. As Ashton passed her, he gave her a small smile, kissing the side of her head briefly before sitting in her chair while she made her way to Kenzie's microphone.

"Before we start this, I just want to say I'm sorry if I start crying," Mari laughed shyly, her fingers gripping the middle of the mic stand, "This song does that to me." She missed the rest of her band as well as the boys and I's smiles as the girls started playing, eager to see her reaction to the plan.

Like a small boat on the ocean  
Sending big waves into motion  
Like how a single word  
Can make a heart open  
I might only have one match  
But I can make an explosion

And all those things I didn't say  
Wrecking balls inside my brain  
I will scream them aloud tonight  
Can you hear my voice this time?

This is my fight song   
Take back my life song  
Prove I'm alright song  
My power's turned on  
Starting right now, I'll be strong  
I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes  
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep  
Everybody's worried 'bout me  
In too deep, say I'm in too deep

And it's been two years, I miss my home  
But there's a fire burning in my bones  
Still believe, yeah, I still believe

And all of those things I didn't say  
Wrecking balls inside my brain  
I will scream them aloud tonight  
Can you hear my voice this time?

This is my fight song  
Take back my life song  
Prove I'm alright song  
My power's turned on  
Starting right now, I'll be strong  
I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes  
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me  
A lot of fight left in me

Like a small boat on the ocean  
Sending big waves into motion  
Like how a single word  
Can make a heart open  
I might only have one match  
But I can make an explosion

It was then that Mari was made aware of my plans, watching the crowd hold pieces of paper in the air, each one with a different message written on it but the meaning all the same: Thank you for saving me.

Mari tried to continue singing – she tried so hard not to fall apart in the middle of that stage – but she just let go, knowing nothing she did was going to work. Her face was in her palms and her head was down, obviously already in tears.

Mari had once told me that when she joined this band, all she wanted to do was help people. She wanted to be their escape from their daily lives and their problems and she just wanted to make them happy. She was given a taste of that every single time a fan asked for a hug or a photo or an autograph, but I don't think it ever truly hit her until now. Now that these people were in front of her – their signs in the air for her to read – it was real; They were alive and she was helping them stay that way.

The moment Mari stopped singing to cry, the other girls had completely planned on finishing the song for her. But when the entire venue began singing the words in unison, they simply settled with just stepping away from their mics, signaling for Ashton to stop playing, and mouthing along with the fans with smiles on their faces as they sang acapella.

This is my fight song  
Take back my life song  
Prove I'm alright song  
My power's turned on  
Starting right now, I'll be strong  
I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes  
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me  
No, I've still got a lot of fight left in me 

When the song was over, the crowd cheered at Mari's reaction – some of them even crying as well. Their screams got louder as I came up behind her and snaked my arms around her waist. I held her for a moment, my face pressed to her neck as I kissed her skin softly every now and then.

"You see that, baby girl?" I murmured in her ear, "You did that – your band did that. You four are doing so much more than writing songs and making albums. You're helping people see how special they are. You're reminding them that they're loved and cared for and worth it. You're showing them the reasons they should keep living."

I felt Mari let out a breath, a new wave of emotion hitting her. Tears began falling again as she turned around in my arms and wrapped her own around my torso, hugging me tightly.

~

Title/song used: "Forget Me Now" by Against The Current  
Other song used: "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten

inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OldIZp3k-zU


	21. I Wanna Get Back to Where We Started

Calum's POV

I had left the stage so the girls could play an encore song, finding myself with Mari's brother in my arms once again. Asher had grown more and more attached to me throughout the band's time in the city – not that I was complaining – and had absolutely refused to leave my side all day. We laughed as we danced around to the girls' song before they took their group photo with the crowd and came backstage.

"Mawi, you so good!" Asher cheered, clapping and bouncing on my hip as I was holding him.

"Thank you, Ashy," she smiled, kissing his cheek before holding her hands out to him. He reached out and leaned toward her, allowing her to take him from me. "Why don't we give Cal a break, huh?" she told him, "You've made him carry you around all day."

"But I like Calum," he pouted, making me smile.

Although I didn't hear much about them before meeting them, I felt incredibly lucky in that Mari's family seemed to really like me. Lori had managed to have a few minutes alone with me while Mari was getting ready for one of our dates one evening, telling me that she was happy her daughter met someone she got along with so well. I thanked her, of course, but I didn't really know what to say, to be honest – I'd never had a parent tell me something like that before. But I was definitely thankful to have someone like Mari.

"Ah, come on, Mar," I chuckled, shaking my head, "It's not like I don't enjoy spending time with him." I reached over and tickled his stomach, making him giggle loudly.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Rockstar, but you can't carry him around and play your set at the same time," she smirked.

"Is that a challenge?" I grinned mischievously. She only responded by rolling her eyes, shoving my shoulder as she went to talk to Lori. I watched her for a moment, smiling to myself, before heading over to the boys and preparing to go onstage.

~

In the middle of our set, Luke took his mic off of its stand and hurried to the side of the stage to hand his guitar off to our guitar tech since he didn't do anything but sing for Waste the Night.

"You guys still with us?" Luke asked everyone as he came back to center stage. The crowd screamed in response, making him smile. "Awesome!" he beamed, "Well, we have a special person coming out to help me with this song, so I want you all to be as loud as you possibly can as Miss Mari Duncan comes back to the stage!" They obviously screamed even louder as she came back on, microphone in hand and a smile plastered on her face. She bowed obnoxiously, making us laugh as Michael, Ashton, and I started playing the song.

[Luke]

Taste of your tongue, oh, the smoke in your lungs  
And I need your love, and I need your love  
The salt on your skin is pulling me in  
And I need your love, and I need your love

I don't wanna say goodbye to another night  
And watch you walk away  
I don't wanna let it burn in the city lights  
And make the same mistakes this time

[Luke, Calum, Michael]

I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste the night  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste the night

"Asher!" I heard Lori all but shout, causing all of us to look over our shoulders. We smiled when we saw Mari's brother racing toward her. She quickly picked him up, making the crowd awe, before she had to start singing.

[Mari]

The scratch in your voice leaves me no choice  
And I won't give up, and I can't give up

I don't wanna say goodbye to another night  
And watch you walk away  
I don't wanna let it burn in the city lights  
And make the same mistakes this time

[Luke, Calum, Michael]

I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste the night  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste the night

[Michael]

I don't wanna say goodbye to another night  
I don't wanna let it burn in the city lights

[Luke, Mari]

I don't wanna say goodbye to another night  
And watch you walk away  
I don't wanna let it burn in the city lights  
And make the same mistakes

[Luke, Mari, Asher]

This time

Mari had held her mic up to Asher's mouth so he could sing with her and Luke. The audience screamed loudly as Luke laughed and missed the first line of the chorus before rejoining on the second with a smile.

[Calum, Michael]

I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it

[Luke, Calum, Michael]

I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste the night

[Mari]

I don't wanna waste the night

[Luke, Calum, Michael]

I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it

[Mari]

Waste the night, oh

[Luke, Calum, Michael]

I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste the night

[Luke, Mari, Calum, Michael]

I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it  
I don't wanna waste it, don't wanna waste it

The crowd screamed as we finished the song, all of us grinning again as Mari smothered her brother's face with kisses. He giggled loudly, squirming around, as Luke started talking.

"How about that, huh?" he smiled, "Did you guys like our special guests?" They cheered again.

"I only thought Mari was coming out," Michael commented while Luke went to get his instrument back, "I didn't know we added someone else. No one in this band ever tells me anything!" Mari simply laughed as she put Asher down, pushing the back of his head after taking her brother's hand and walking by the guitar player.

"Hey, hold on," I said, waiting until both Mari and Asher turned around before continuing, "C'mere, bud." Asher happily let go of Mari's hand to waddle back across the stage. I moved by bass so I could pick him up and hold him on my hip. "You wanna introduce yourself?" I asked. The toddler nodded with a giggle. "Go ahead," I urged him, "Tell 'em your name." I helped him lean toward the mic so he could speak into it.

"Asher," he giggled again, causing the crowd to cheer.

"Asher, I wanna try something out, okay?" I told him, "Do you think you could help me with our next song?"

Obviously knowing what song was coming up, I noticed Kaylynn hurry out from behind where Mari was standing and come over to me. She whispered that she would play bass while I held Asher, and we carefully got the instrument off so she could put it on herself.

"You know the song Mari sings to you every night?" He obviously nodded and I continued, "Do you wanna help me sing it for everyone?" The audience cheered once again when he nodded and the boys and Kaylynn started playing the song.

"I'm so glad I was informed of this change too!" Michael pouted, picking up on Kaylynn's lead and beginning to play as well.

"Don't worry, Mike," Luke chuckled after returning with his guitar, "I don't think anyone was informed about this one."

[Calum and Asher]

Within a minute, I was all packed up  
I've got a ticket to another world  
I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go

The silent words are hard to speak  
When your thoughts are all I see  
"Don't ever leave," she said to me

[Luke]

When we both fall asleep underneath the same sky  
To the beat of our hearts at the same time  
So close, but so far away  
Can you hear me?

[Luke, Michael, Calum]

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you  
She lies awake, I'm trying to find the words to say  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you

The crowd clapped as the chorus ended, making Asher giggle again. I could see Michael motioning to Mari, causing me to look over as she held her mic back up to her mouth.

[Mari]

Another day and I'm somewhere new  
I made a promise that I'll come home soon  
Bring me back, I'll bring me back to you

When we both wake up underneath the same sun  
Time stops, I wish that I could rewind  
So close, but so far away

[Luke, Michael, Calum]

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you  
She lies awake, I'm trying to find the words to say  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you

[Calum, Mari, Asher]

There are pieces of us both under every city light  
And they're shining as we fade into the night

[Calum, Asher]

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was

[Luke, Michael, Calum]

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was beside you  
She lies awake, I'm trying to find the words to say  
I wish I was, I wish I was

[Calum, Mari, Asher]

She sleeps alone, my heart wants to come home  
I wish I was, I wish I was

The crowd screamed as Mari smiled widely at her brother.

"You were so good, Ashy!" she praised him, making him giggle. He happily returned back into her arms when she prompted him to so I could take my bass back from Kaylynn. I high-fived her as she laughed as well as kissing Mari's cheek before they both walked offstage to let us finish our set.

~

Title: "San Francisco" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
Songs used: "Waste the Night" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
"Beside You" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	22. 'Til the Sun Comes Up, We Can Own This Town

Mari's POV; Two months later

"Sydney, you beautiful thing!" Michael exclaimed when we stepped outside of the Sydney Airport, "Oh, how I've missed you!"

"Mike, you think you could dial it back a bit?" Kaylynn rolled her eyes, "You're disturbing the peace."

"He always disturbs the peace," I commented, "It's like you don't know him."

"Yeah," Luke agreed with a chuckle, "You've been on tour with us for what, six months? You should know how he is by now."

"Shut up, Luke!" Michael shot back.

"Mari said it first!" he pouted.

"Mari is the only person who can beat me at video games; She's allowed to say whatever she wants about me," he said matter-of-factly.

I smirked victoriously as I climbed into the car I was taking with Calum, Michael, and Vanessa. Luke simply scoffed as he and the other three members of our group went to the other car that was waiting to take us to where we'd be staying until we had to leave for Melbourne in a couple days – the boys insisted that we stay with them while we were all in Sydney: both now and when we came back for the final shows of the tour.

After arriving at our destination, we were given a quick tour of the house. We dropped off our bags in the rooms we'd be staying in – Vanessa and Kaylynn were sharing the guest room, I was obviously staying in Calum's room, and we all knew Kenzie and Ashton were going to end up sharing his room despite the fact that he'd said he was going to take the couch.

They had told us they wanted to show us around the city before the jet lag hit, but they all agreed to do so after they went to visit with their families for a bit. The girls and I told them we'd wait around their house, wanting to give them their space as we were sure that they'd really missed them in the time they'd been on tour. Calum, however, invited me to go with him to meet his parents. I opened my mouth to object – I knew how much he'd been wanting to see them again and I really didn't want to ruin their moment together – but Kenzie spoke before I could do so.

"Come on, Mar!" she chirped, "You know what they say: When in Sydney!"

"No one says that," I rolled my eyes.

"You don't want to go?" Calum asked, "It's okay; I'm not going to force you." I could still tell he was a little disappointed though.

"It's not that I don't want to meet them, Cal," I sighed, "I just... You know... You've talked about how much you've missed them for so long and I don't want to intrude..."

"You're not intruding, Mar; I'm inviting you," he assured me, "And I, uh... I might have brought up the idea of you coming along with me to their house today-" He scratched the back of his neck shyly. "-and they're excited to meet you." I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath – I should have known he'd already run the idea by them before asking me.

"Go on, Mar!" Vanessa said, "The girls and I will be here whenever you all come back and then we can go on our Tour de Sydney!" I laughed a little louder, the boys and I saying goodbye before we left in separate cars.

~

It hadn't even been 10 minutes of a drive before Calum was pulling into a driveway. I felt like I should be nervous – meeting parents had always been somewhat of an anxiety-attack-waiting-to-happen kind of thing for me – but I wasn't even a little worrisome. Though, maybe that was just because I was so comfortable with Calum as his assurances that they would like me because he liked me.

Calum took my hand after we got out of the car, pulling me onto the porch. He didn't bother knocking – if his parents were anything like my mom, she would have made fun of me for it even though I didn't technically live there anymore – and we went in. But we didn't even make it past the door frame before I heard his mother's voice.

"Cal!" she shrieked happily, "You're finally home!"

"Mum!" Calum grinned widely, letting go of my hand so he could run over and hug her. I simply grinned as I closed the door behind me, hearing another voice come from somewhere in the house.

"There's my boy!" Calum's dad beamed as he turned the corner. When Calum let go of his mother to hug his father, his mom looked over and saw me watching all of them.

"You must be Mari!" she smiled, coming over and pulling me into a hug without warning. I let out a soft grunt, not expecting to be hugged, but I hugged her back nonetheless.

"And you must be Cal's mom," I giggled, "It's nice to finally meet you; He talks about you and his dad all the time."

"Only good things, I hope," his dad came over to give me a quick hug as well.

"Of course, Mr. Hood," I nodded as he let go of me, "I don't think I've heard him say a bad word about anybody, let alone you guys."

"You don't have to call us that, sweetheart; You can just call us Joy and David," his mom insisted, "Anyone Cal likes enough to meet the parents doesn't have to bother with formalities."

"Mum," Calum warned, his cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"It's only fair, Cal," I shrugged, "My mom had her fun embarrassing me while we were in Indy; Now it's your turn to suffer."

"I can see why you like her," I heard a third voice, looking over as Calum's sister came into the room.

I'd met Mali a few times before – twice at the shows we played in London, once as the band and I were walking into the recording studio and she was walking out, and once when I was just out and about in the city. Of course, that was all before I'd even met Calum – though, Calum did tell me that she seemed really happy when he confirmed the relationship after she'd called him and asked if the rumors about us being together were true.

"What are you doing here?" Calum asked with furrowed eyebrows, "I thought you weren't flying in until the Sydney shows."

"And miss out on embarrassing you in front of Mari now that you're actually dating her?" Mali snorted softly, "I don't think so." Calum whined softly, making me laugh as she came over to hug me. "It's good to see you again," she said.

"Always a pleasure, Mali," I snickered, "I can't wait to hear what's in store for me."

"You know what? That's gonna have to wait," Calum said suddenly, "We'd better be getting back to the house – we have to show you guys around the city before we lose too much daylight."

"That's not fair, Cal!" I pouted, "I live with my mom when I visit! I didn't have another house to retreat to when she started embarrassing me!"

"That's a real shame, princess, but you know how Ash gets when we're running late," he walked over to the door, putting his hand on the knob as I sighed. I knew he was only wanting to leave before he got too red, but I knew he was right as well – Ashton would have a fit if we didn't get back when we said we would.

"We'll see you tomorrow, dear," Joy smiled, hugging me again, "Whether you come over here with Calum or not." Calum groaned as I laughed loudly, hugging David as well as Mali.

"I'll text you some photos later," she murmured in my ear so Calum couldn't hear her.

"How much do you think he'll hate me if they accidentally end up on Twitter?" I whispered back.

"What you choose to do with them is out of my control," she teased, letting go of me. I laughed again before telling everyone goodbye, being quickly ushered out of the house by my boyfriend.

"Come on, Cal," I grinned after we got into his car and started making the drive back to the boys' house, "At least they like me." He didn't say anything; All he did was smile to himself, reaching over and grabbing my hand to hold on my lap.

~

Title: "Long Way Home" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	23. There's a Really Big World at Your Fingertips

Mari's POV; September 29th

Once we were back in Sydney after the Melbourne and Brisbane shows, we were all pretty bummed that tour was almost over but we were more determined than ever to make the second Sydney show – the final show of the tour – the best one we'd ever given. The girls and I had gone back to our hotel after soundcheck – we decided to get a hotel rather than stay with the boys at their house again simply because, in Kaylynn's words, 'you idiots are too messy and we will actually go insane if we stay there for an extended period of time'. The boys obviously rolled their eyes when she said it – the other girls and I were too busy laughing to really appreciate the unamused looks on their faces – but they reluctantly agreed to give us our space anyway.

We did our usual things after soundcheck – Calum and I went out on an impromptu lunch date while everyone else did their own things – before we all went back to the venue to prepare for the show. We went outside to meet fans for a bit before my band had to get our outfits for the show put on. The energy in our dressing room was crazy – we were all excited and nervous and terrified and pumped up at the same time – but we were all sure this was going to be the most memorable night of our lives.

~

An hour and a half later

"We hope you guys had fun tonight!" Kenzie announced, making everyone cheer.

"Yeah," Vanessa agreed, "We hope we weren't the worst openers you've ever had the displeasure of forcing yourself to sit through."

"Geez, Nessa," I laughed loudly into my mic, "Don't kill the mood right before our last song of the tour."

"And speaking of our last song of the tour..." Kenzie grinned, "We're gonna let you guys in on a little secret, okay?" The audience screamed in response.

"I'm not sure they really want to hear it, Kenz," Kaylynn shook her head teasingly, "They don't sound like they do."

"She has a point," Vanessa giggled, "I think if they wanted it that bad, they could be a little louder."

"They want it!" I played along, "Look at them! They're practically begging for it!"

"I'm just not convinced, Mar," Kenzie sighed dramatically.

"Well, I know they do," I said thoughtfully, "How about you guys prove the rest of my band wrong, huh?" The crowd cheered again, so I went on, "On three, I want y'all to be as loud as you possibly can, okay?" They gave more cheers as I started counting. "One... Two... Three!" I gave them the floor and they definitely delivered, screaming louder than any crowd we'd had since we joined the tour.

"Alright, alright!" Kenzie laughed, "I believe you!"

"So," Kaylynn giggled, beginning to explain what we were referring to, "When the girls and I started this band, we knew from pretty much day one that we wanted Lost and Found to be our name."

"Right," Vanessa nodded, "And we loved it so much that we just couldn't let the opportunity to write a song about it slip away."

"We know there are a lot of you who can relate to feeling like you're so small that you don't matter and feeling like you're lost in the world," I finished the speech, "But if you take anything from our music, we want it to be that you do matter and that you mean so much more than you'll ever give yourselves credit for; And this is how the lost get found." The fans screamed again at the mention of the song title, ready to sing our last song with us.

[Kenzie]

Hello, my friend  
I remember when you were so alive with your wide eyes  
'Til the light that you had in your heart was stolen  
Now you say that it ain't worth staying  
You wanna run, but you're hesitating  
I'm talking to me

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Don't let your lights go down  
Don't let your fire burn out  
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe  
Why don't you rise up now?  
Don't be afraid to stand out  
That's how the lost get found, the lost get found

[Kaylynn]

So if you get the chance, are you gonna take it?  
There's a really big world at your fingertips  
And you know you have the chance to change it  
There's a girl on the streets– she's cryin'  
There's a man whose faith is dying  
Love is calling you

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Don't let your lights go down  
Don't let your fire burn out  
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe  
Why don't you rise up now?  
Don't be afraid to stand out  
That's how the lost get found, the lost get found

[Mari]

Why do we go with the flow?  
Why take the easier road?  
Why are we playing it safe?  
Love came to show us the way  
Love is a chance we should take  
I'm moving out of the grey

[Kenzie]

Don't let your lights go down  
Don't let your fire burn out  
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe

[Kaylynn]

Stand out!

[Kenzie, Vanessa]

Don't let your lights go down  
Don't let your fire burn out  
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Why don't you rise up now?  
Don't be afraid to stand out  
That's how the lost get found, the lost get found

[Mari]

So if you get the chance, are you gonna take it?  
There's a really big world at your fingertips  
And you know you have the chance to change it

~

Two hours later

"Now that's how you end a world fuckin' tour!" Michael shouted excitedly as the boys came offstage. They all had huge smiles on their faces, adrenaline still pumping through them from the show.

"Michael! Language!" Ashton scolded.

"We're all adults here, aren't we?" he pouted.

"Physically or mentally?" I snickered.

"You know what?" Michael grinned evilly, and I wasn't even given a chance to respond before I was being thrown over his shoulder.

"Mikey!" I squealed in surprise, smacking his lower back playfully as he took me toward his dressing room while everyone else followed, chatting amongst each other.

"Yes, kitten?" he smiled innocently, pushing the door open with his knee. He came to a stop in front of the couch, and I squealed again as I was suddenly tossed onto it. The other boys had taken that moment to grab towels and dry themselves off.

"You're insufferable," I huffed, pushing my hair away from my eyes and looking up at him.

"You still love me," he insisted, leaning down to kiss the top of my head before heading over for his own towel.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Clifford," I mentioned, leaning back against the cushion and pulling out my phone to check the notifications I'd gotten before getting onstage.

"Hey, Mar..." I heard the timid voice of my boyfriend, making me look up. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked softly, "Like...alone?"

"Yeah, sure," I nodded.

Calum took my hand and pulled me to one of the empty dressing rooms, closing the door behind me. He let go of my hand to pace, still not having said a single word since he pulled me in there.

"Cal," I walked over to him, putting my hands on his shoulders to make him stop moving and look at me, "What's wrong?"

"I've been thinking...you know...about how this was the last show of the tour and everything..."

"Yeah, I mean, we're all thinking about that," I replied, "We're really gonna miss you guys."

"That's the thing... I was thinking about how you're gonna be back in London and I'm still gonna be in Sydney..."

"I know, but I'm sure we can-"

"I think we should break up," he blurted out. I felt the wind get knocked right out of me, my arms falling back to my sides.

"Break up?" I whispered, already feeling my eyes getting watery.

"I just..." Calum cleared his throat in an attempt to hide the crack in his voice, "After spending the last six months never being apart, I... I don't think we'll be able to handle being 11,000 miles away all the time."

"Oh..." I swallowed, "Okay..."

"So... You understand, right?"

"Yeah, Cal," I started chewing on my bottom lip, "I get it. It's fine."

"Baby girl," he said under his breath, putting his hands on my cheeks, "You'll always be my favorite part of this tour."

"I know," I nodded, reaching up to kiss him. I pulled back so my lips barely brushed his, "I just wish I could have been part of your everything else too." Before Calum could respond, I was out of the room, leaving him alone in the deafening silence.

~

Title/song used: "The Lost Get Found" by Britt Nicole


	24. Nothing Lasts Forever, Nothing Stays the Same

Mari's POV

I trudged back to the stage where everyone else still was, wiping my eyes the best I could before I got there. I shoved my hands into the pocket of the hoodie I'd stolen from Calum's suitcase that morning and tried to make it seem like nothing had changed, but I wasn't sure if I was doing a very good job.

"Mari!" Michael chirped when he noticed I was coming back, "We were thinking about going out to eat to celebrate the last show of the tour! Are you in?"

"I'm kinda tired," I answered quietly, "I think I'm just gonna go back to the hotel."

"You're still gonna come over to our house tomorrow though, right?" he pouted, "I'm gonna miss having an actual challenge when playing video games with someone." Luke scoffed, but didn't say anything. My heart started racing when I heard Calum coming up behind me, but I shrugged it off the best I could.

"Yeah, Mikey," I promised him, "We're still coming over." Michael smiled brightly, bouncing over to me and hugging me tightly.

"See you tomorrow, kitten," he squeezed me lightly as my arms wound around his midsection.

"You're more of a kitten than I am, Mikey," I reminded him.

"But like, a bad ass kitten," he stated, letting go of me. I rolled my eyes, making him laugh. "Do you want me to ask Bryan to drive you back to your hotel?" he asked.

"Nah," I shook my head, "I'd rather walk."

"Okay, well, when you get lost, call me," he snickered, earning himself a slap to the chest from me. "Be careful," he said seriously, kissing the top of my head lightly, "We'll have Bryan come by the hotel and bring you over tomorrow." I simply nodded, hugging Luke and Ashton and telling the girls I'd see them when they got back. I didn't even so much as glance at Calum as I left, which understandably worried the group, but they clearly decided not to ask about it.

~

Kaylynn's POV

"Mari, we're back," I announced quietly as Kenzie, Vanessa, and I entered the room.

We found her lying on her bed and figured she was already asleep, so Kenzie and Vanessa went across the hall to their own room, not wanting to wake her up. I put my key card on the nightstand, grabbed my pajamas from my suitcase, and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When I came back into the room, I heard a quiet sniffling sound and my heart dropped. Mari was never a person to really cry – especially when she knew there were other people around – so hearing her do it now was a little surprising.

"Mar," I whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her back. I put my hand on her shoulder, "You okay?"

"No..." she whimpered honestly, but not turning to face me.

"What happened?"

"Y-You know how Cal and I disappeared f-for a minute before we all l-left the venue?" she asked. I was silent, but she could tell I nodded. She obviously didn't know how to ease into what she had to say, so she just said came out and it. "H-He broke up with m-me." My jaw practically hit the floor – that was the last thing I would have ever assumed would come out of her mouth in that moment.

"He what?!" I whisper-yelled. Mari finally turned onto her back so she could wipe her eyes with the sleeves of Calum's hoodie.

"H-He said that he doesn't th-think we'll be able to handle b-being 11,000 miles f-from each other all the- all the t-time," she told me.

"What the fuck?" I whispered to myself before turning my attention back to the girl in front of me.

I could clearly see how hard she was trying to keep herself from falling apart, and that only made me more upset at Calum for doing this to her. Mari was the strongest person I knew and the fact that someone had this much of an effect on her showed me how much she really cared about him.

"It's okay to cry, Mar," I said softly, moving so I was completely sitting on the bed now, propped up against the headboard, "It's only us in here. Just let it out." Mari's bottom lip trembled and the waterworks quickly followed. I pulled on her so her head was on my lap and I just let her cry herself to sleep.

10 minutes later, when I was 100% sure that she were asleep and hadn't just run out of tears, I carefully lifted her head off of my thighs and made sure she at least looked comfortable before I grabbed my keycard and left the room. I knocked quietly on Kenzie and Vanessa's door and luckily, they weren't asleep yet.

"Kay, what's wrong?" Kenzie asked as I barged into the room the second after the door opened.

"I'll explain in a few," I said, pulling out my phone to text Michael.

"I'll explain in a few," I said, pulling out my phone to text Michael  
Michael texted back almost immediately.

Michael texted back almost immediately  
I scoffed at the message on my screen.

It took Michael a moment to respond, probably confused as to what I meant by that  
It took Michael a moment to respond, probably confused as to what I meant by that.

It took Michael a moment to respond, probably confused as to what I meant by that  
~

Michael's POV

"Emergency meeting with the girls, guys," I said, walking into the kitchen where Luke and Ashton were. Calum wasn't there – he was upstairs asleep as far as the rest of us were concerned – so I knew I didn't have to check to see if he was there beforehand.

"What for?" Ashton asked.

"Don't know," I shrugged, "But I told Kay we'd be there in 5."

"Okay, I'll go see if Cal's awake."

"Cal's not invited," I informed them.

"Why not?" Luke cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't know, but apparently, Mari's not gonna be there either," I shook my head, "Kay said to go to Vanessa and Kenzie's room and be quiet in the hall so we don't wake her up." Luke and Ashton glanced at each other for a moment before grabbing their jackets so we could head to the girls' hotel.

Upon arriving, I texted Kaylynn as promised and she gave me the room number. She met us at the elevator, reminding us not to make a lot of noise as we approached the room. I looked at the door across from the one she was taking us to, wondering why Mari and Calum weren't in on this 'emergency meeting'.

"So can we know what's going on now?" I asked, earning a chorus of agreements from Luke and Ashton as well as Kenzie and Vanessa, who apparently didn't know what was happening either.

"We have a problem," Kaylynn informed the group as we all sat on the ends of the two beds, standing in front of us.

"And I'm assuming that problem involves Mari and Calum somehow?" Kenzie wondered.

"Earlier this evening, Calum and Mari disappeared to a dressing room," the bassist started, "One can only assume that when a couple sneaks into an empty dressing room, they're going to-"

"Kay!" Vanessa exclaimed, "We don't want to know what they did!"

"Oh, but you do!" she scoffed, "You see, my dear friends, our young, star-crossed lovers were not doing things that they would be embarrassed of if we were to find out about them – no, no, no. They were in there because he broke up with her." Everyone's jaws dropped slightly and we all stared at each other in shock.

"I don't know what I was expecting to hear," Ashton said softly, "But that was not it."

"Calum...broke up with Mari?" I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around it.

"Why would he do that?" Kenzie whispered.

"Yeah," Vanessa added, "They seemed so happy."

"11,000 miles was apparently a deal-breaker for him," Kaylynn answered.

"So what do we do?" Luke spoke up, "Like... Do we try to make them work it out before you leave or..."

"Won't that just make them more upset though?" Kenzie wondered, "I mean, now that I think about it, Mari did seem pretty out of it before she came back here earlier. What if forcing them to talk to each other just makes it worse?"

"I think if they really want to work it out, they will," Kaylynn sighed, "And if they don't... Well... I guess that's just it."

"I agree," Ashton nodded solemnly, "And I think that if Mari doesn't want to come over tomorrow, then we shouldn't force her."

"Agreed," everyone said simultaneously. The boys and I got up, saying goodbye to the girls and leaving the room to head back home, unsure of what we were going to say to Calum – if we had anything to say to him at all.

~

Title: "Wherever You Are" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	25. Just Me and My Shadow and All of My Regrets

Mari's POV; 9am

I woke up the next morning the sun shining directly on my face. I groaned quietly, rolling onto my other side, opening my eyes to find Kaylynn watching TV.

"Morning, sunshine," she giggled at my less-than-amused expression.

"Tell the sunshine to go away," I whined, burying half of my face in the pillow.

"I don't think I can do that, sorry," she smiled, getting up and going to the window, "But I can close the curtain."

"I'm already awake," I sighed, "I might as well just pack."

"Already done," Kaylynn informed me, "Your sweats are on the bathroom counter with your toiletry bag, so all you have to pack is that and your pajamas." I smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Kay," I murmured, dragging myself out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

I brushed my teeth, changed into my other clothes, and went back into the room. Kaylynn had turned the TV off and made both of our beds, ready to go get Kenzie and Vanessa to go to the boys' house.

"You sure you still want to go?" Kaylynn asked, "We can just hang around here until we have to head to the airport.

"I'm sure," I nodded, "I still have to kick Mikey's ass in GTA one more time."

"That's my girl," she beamed, holding her hand up for a high-five.

I grinned lightly again and we met the other two girls in the hallway after making sure we had everything we'd brought with us. Kaylynn had called Bryan after I went into the bathroom, so he was already waiting for us when we got outside.

Once we made it to the boys' house, we didn't even get to knock on the door before Ashton was pulling it open.

"Hey, guys!" he smiled brightly – way too chipper for 9:30am in my opinion, but hey, that was Ashton for you. "Come in!" he ushered us inside, "Guys! They're here!"

"Wow," Kaylynn nodded as she looked around, "It's cleaner this time around."

"Yeah, well, Ash made us clean when we got back from shows all week," Luke said, coming into the room with Calum following behind him like a lost puppy. We made eye contact for a brief moment, but quickly looked away when the blonde started talking again. "Mike's waiting for you downstairs, Mari," he looked at me, "Said he's looking forward to kicking your ass in GTA."

"In his dreams," I rolled my eyes. I tightly gripped the hoodie in my hands, holding it out to Calum. "Here, Cal..." I said softly, "Figured you'd want this back." He barely nodded, taking it from me before I hurried downstairs.

I trotted to the main room of the basement where Michael was sitting on the floor in front of the TV, already playing Grand Theft Auto V. He had propped himself up against the couch, a second controller sitting beside him.

"Hi, Mikey," I said softly, going around the back of the couch so I didn't walk in front of him.

"Mari!" he beamed, pausing the game and waiting for me to sit down so he could hug me tightly. Michael ended his current game and switched to multiplayer so I could join in.

~

About 30 minutes of in-game horseplay and Michael's terrible jokes later, he apparently decided to get serious.

"We know what happened last night, kitten," Michael told me as we continued playing the game. I let out a breathy laugh.

"I should have known Kay was gonna tell you," I replied.

"How do you know Cal didn't?"

"Because I know him," I murmured.

"It's okay to be upset about it, you know?" he said thoughtfully, "It was a really shitty reason to end it."

"I know, but if he couldn't handle the distance, I don't want to make him stay with me," I shrugged, "Maybe we just weren't meant to be."

"Like you believe that," he nudged me. I laughed lightly again, laying my head on his shoulder.

"I don't," I confirmed, "But I'll get over it. I don't want to talk about that anyway. I'd rather talk about how many times I'm gonna kick your ass in the next six hours."

"Oh, I love talking about dreams!" he sighed dramatically. I elbowed his side, picking my head up to look at him.

"Alright then, what do you say we make this a little more interesting, Clifford?" I proposed.

"How so, Duncan?" he returned with a small smirk.

"We turn away from the TV and try to kill each other without looking," I said, "Whoever loses buys pizza for everyone for lunch."

"Oh, you are so on," he snickered. We put our characters in the same room and switched weapons to only our fists, then spun around so we were no longer facing the TV just as everyone else was coming down the stairs.

"What are you guys doing?" Kenzie asked with a small giggle.

"Mari's buying lunch!" Michael chirped.

"Loser's buying lunch," I reminded him, rolling my eyes.

"Isn't that what I said?" he smirked again, earning himself a shove.

"Here's how it's gonna work, Mikey," I announced, "This is gonna be a clean game – that means no one will tell us where our characters are, no weapons except for hands, and if you put any one of your fingers near my controller, I'm gonna snap it in half."

Michael gasped dramatically, "I can't believe you don't trust me, kitten."

"I'd trust you with my life, Mikey," I stated, "I just don't trust you when we're playing video games."

He paused for a moment before nodding, "Fair enough. You ready for this, Duncan?"

"Born ready, Clifford," I grinned slyly, "Okay, someone count us down." Vanessa happily took initiative.

"3... 2... 1... Go!" she squeaked.

It was only about 7 minutes later that a winner was declared. Everyone started cheering as Michael and I snapped our heads back to the TV, finding the 'WASTED' screen over his character.

"Yeah!" I shouted happily, throwing my arms up.

Michael threw his arms around my waist and tackled me to the ground, lying on top of me. He started tickling my sides to make me laugh, but I didn't mind, honestly; I knew I needed a good laugh after what had happened yesterday.

Calum's POV

Since I was standing behind everyone, I got lucky in that no one noticed how tight my jaw was getting. Mari and Michael had been best friends pretty much since the moment we all met, but the way her face scrunched up in the same way that it did when she was with me made me jealous beyond all reason.

I knew it was my fault – and boy, did I hate myself for it – but that was the thing about me; No matter how badly I wanted to fix things, I was incredibly stubborn. And no matter how jealous I was now was going to make me admit to anyone else that I was wrong.

~

Mari's POV; 10:30pm

Calum wouldn't stop staring at me the entire time we were waiting in the airport terminal and I found myself desperate for our plane to start boarding so I didn't have to deal with it anymore. His gaze made me feel so self-conscious and small that I just wanted to curl into a ball and disappear.

Finally, like God was speaking down from the heavens himself, the woman over the airport intercom announced that our flight to London was finally boarding.

I let out a small sigh of relief, quickly grabbing the peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks that Michael insisted to buy for me off the table as we all stood up. After making sure we all had our carry-ons, the boys followed us to the gate entrance, all of them except for Calum having prominent pouts on their faces.

"Don't be strangers, okay?" Michael hugged the other girls, "If you're ever back in Sydney, we'll take care of you."

"My mum's dog would take better care of me than you would," Kaylynn shot him a glare, shoving his shoulder. I let out a breath as I giggled softly, keeping my head down but still knowing everyone had looked at me.

"I think I could out-care a dog, Kaylynn," he scoffed, turning his attention back to the bassist.

"Don't be so sure, Mike," Vanessa chirped, "Cal was a search and rescue dog for half of her life."

"Cal?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Cal," Kaylynn interrupted, her tone menacing, "Short for Callie. I would argue it really is a great nickname for a bitch though, wouldn't you?" Calum swallowed thickly when she looked at him. "Oh, right!" she exclaimed plainly, "Cal is your nickname too! I totally forgot! What are the cha-"

"Kay," I whispered, making everyone look at me again, "It's not worth it; Let's just forget it and go home." The girls agreed and began walking toward the gate while I remained in my spot. Luke and Ashton hugged me tightly before Michael took his turn.

"Stay in touch, okay?" he mumbled into my ear, "I'm gonna miss playing video games and causing trouble with you." I let out a genuine laugh that time.

"You've got my gamer tag, Mikey – just text me whenever you wanna play," I squeezed him lightly before letting go, "And if you're ever back in London, I don't mind sharing a bed with you." I stole a glance at Calum, taking note of how his jaw had tightened, before looking at the other boys. "Thanks for bringing us on tour, guys. It's a shame it had to come to an end," I said, my eyes trained on Calum. I stood there for a moment before bending down to pick up my carry-on bag and turning around, walking toward the gate.

"Duncan!" I heard Michael call out. I turned, now walking backwards slowly. "Call me when you get back, yeah?" he told me, "Wanna know you got home safe." The corner of my mouth twitched into a half-smile.

"Anything for my favorite person, Clifford," I told him, noticing Calum shift uncomfortably.

"Hey!" Luke pouted, "I was your favorite person three hours ago!"

"Better start being more careful about talking with your hands then, Hemmo," I shot back, pulling on the bottom of the shirt he had given me to replace mine when he spilled his drink on me at dinner.

He sighed, "I'm not getting that back, am I?"

"Nope," I smirked, winking at him before turning around again and hurrying to the gate before I missed my flight.

~

Title: "Invisible" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	26. You're Ripped at Every Edge, but You're a Masterpiece

Mari's POV; Three weeks later

After nearly a month of being back in London, I couldn't say I'd been feeling any better. My mind would always wander to Calum – what was he doing, who was he with, did he miss me as much as I missed him? I would mentally reprimand myself every time I wondered if he was broken up about me – he broke up with me; why would he do that if he cared about me?

It seemed like the only thing that could keep my mind away from Calum was being in the studio – though, I wouldn't be the last to admit I was still distracted. The girls and I had written some pretty good songs. Well... They did... I was never much help anymore with everything that had been going on in my personal life...

"Mari," I heard Kaylynn sing softly, knocking me out of another trance, "You okay?"

"Fine," I nodded.

"You sure?" she questioned, "You're not really yourself lately. You usually have 17 songs written when we come to the studio."

"I don't have 17 songs written, Kay," I rolled my eyes, making them laugh.

"Fine, but you usually have at least one." It was silent for a moment – the girls looking at me with curious and worried expressions – before I finally spoke again.

"I think I'm gonna go home for a while," I said softly.

"Okay," Kenzie nodded, "We'll come by when-"

"No," I cut her off, "I mean... Home..."

"Oh," they said in unison as Vanessa continued, "Well, just text one of us when you land."

"I'll try to come back soon."

"Don't worry about it, Mar," Kenzie shook her head, pulling me into a hug, "You stay for as long as you need."

"We'll try to talk to you every day," Vanessa assured me, "We're only 5 hours ahead, so I'm sure we'll be awake at the same time a lot."

"You guys are the best," I murmured, hugging her as well before moving to hug Kaylynn.

"We'll try to have a song written by the time you come back," Kenzie added, "I mean, we're not as talented as you are, but we'll try."

"Shut up," I giggled under my breath, all of us saying 'goodbye' before I grabbed my things and headed back to my apartment.

~

16 hours later

I'd texted my mom before my flight departed asking if she'd come get me from the airport. After a few minutes of 'Yes, Mom, I'm coming home', 'No, Mom, everything's fine', and 'I just wanted to spend more time with the family', she agreed to meet me at my gate.

It was about 4pm when I landed in Indy, so I was a bit tired with my body still being on London time, but I was happy to be back in my first home city. My mom was waiting exactly where she said she'd be – right at the gate with open arms. I happily dropped my carry-on bag so I could hug her, breathing in deeply as she hugged me back tightly.

"If you need to cry, that's okay," she told me, rubbing my back slightly.

"I'm not gonna cry in the middle of the airport, Mom," I stifled a laugh.

"People cry in airports all the time! They'll just think you're happy to see me!" she insisted. I laughed again – a genuine one that time – and squeezed her a bit.

"I've been crying for three weeks," I said, "I need a break." She smiled sadly – I'd obviously told her everything about what happened with Calum.

"Well then, how about you and I go pick Ashy up from your grandma's and we'll go out and do something?" Mom suggested, letting go of me.

"Like what?" I asked, walking with her to baggage claim to wait for my suitcase.

"We could go to the mall," she shrugged, "Or the zoo or something."

"I say we save a trip to the zoo for tomorrow," I replied, "It'll be too close to closing by the time we get there anyway."

"Good point," she laughed, "Still want to go to the mall?"

"Do we really want to take Ashy to the mall?"

"You know what? I'll see if Grandma will watch him for a couple more hours," she said, making me laugh. Mom went to call my grandmother while I patiently waited for my suitcase to show up.

It only took a couple minutes before I noticed it coming around the corner, pulling it off the carousel when it got to me. I took the handle out and rolled it behind me as I made my way back to my mom. I talked to my grandma for a couple minutes – who gave me the usual 'I heard what happened with you and Calum, honey, are you okay?' spiel – before we hung up and my mom and I set off for the Circle Centre Mall.

~

Two hours later

Mom pulled into the driveway and we got our bags out of the trunk before we made our way to the front door. I unlocked it since Mom insisted on carrying my suitcase, clearly knowing what was waiting for me as soon as I opened the door.

"Mawi!" Asher cheered, running to me, "Mawi home!" I quickly put my bags down before he made it to me, picking him up and holding him on my hip.

"Hey, bud," I grinned, hugging him about as tightly as he was hugging me, "I've missed you."

"I miss you, Mawi," he said, "You bwing candy?"

"Is that the only reason you like when I come home?" I pouted, "Because I bring you candy from London?"

"Not our fault English candy is better than American," I heard my grandmother say, making me look up. I smiled as she came over to hug me. "Hi, sweetheart," she said, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good," I nodded, "Glad to be home for a while."

"Well, we're glad to have you home," Mom said.

"Candy?" Asher asked again, making us all laugh.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" I asked. He frowned, instantly giving me my answer. I laughed again, pulling his shirt down slightly as I went on, "How about we go out to eat? My treat."

"Mari," Mom shook her head – she hated when I paid for everybody.

"I make my own money now, I pay my own bills – I decide how to spend it!" I announced, putting Asher back on his feet.

"This is what I don't miss when you're in London," she sighed with a smile on her face. I smiled innocently, going to where my suitcase and our shopping bags were so I could take them upstairs.

"Figure out where you guys want to go!" I sang over my shoulder, hearing Mom and Grandma chuckle softly as I lugged everything up the staircase.

~

Three hours later; 9:30pm

I was sitting with Asher in his room, rocking him lightly to get him to go to sleep. We'd been talking about whatever he could think of – usually about everything he'd done since I'd last been home – until the question I was dreading came up.

"Mawi, where Calum?" he asked. I paused for a moment, feeling my chest get tighter. I knew how much Asher adored Calum and I really wasn't looking forward to how he would react to hearing he'd never see him again.

"Calum's not here," I answered, hoping my voice didn't waver too much, "We broke up."

"Why?" he pouted. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"He didn't want me anymore..." I swallowed. I felt Asher reposition himself slightly so he was sitting on my lap facing me. He laid his head on my chest and cuddled up to me even more so than he had been before.

"I always want you, Mawi," he murmured. I couldn't keep myself from grinning.

"I always want you too, Ashy," I replied, kissing the top of his head.

It was silent for a few minutes after that until I started hearing soft snoring coming from the little boy on top of me. I chuckled softly – honestly thankful that I didn't have to sing Beside You to him to get him to go to sleep – as I carefully stood up and laid him down on his bed. I pulled his blanket over him and leaned down to kiss his forehead, then quietly moving across the room so I could go back to my own, leaving the door open a crack so I would hear when he woke up later.

~

One hour later

I wasn't exactly sure how long it had been since I'd put Asher to bed when I started hearing crying coming from his room. It brought me back to reality – the reality that I was upset with myself for still crying over Calum – and I quickly wiped my face before getting off of my bed. I figured he'd just had a nightmare, but when I found my mom already sitting with him – him on her lap and her hugging him tightly – I knew it was something a lot more than just another bad dream. I quickly hid around the corner before they noticed I was there so I could listen in.

"Ashy," Mom sighed, rubbing his back, "It's not your fault she's feeling sad."

"But can't make her stop cwying!" Asher frowned, his bright green eyes filling up with tears, "Want Mawi to stop cwying!" My heart dropped as I listened to him cry into Mom's shirt – I hadn't even realized he'd been hearing me this whole time – but I felt so lucky to have someone who just wanted me to be happy.

And it was at that point that I'd finally had the inspiration to finish a song I'd been working on since I boarded the flight to Indy.

I quietly hurried back to my room, grabbing my song book and my phone from both their spots. I then threw on a hoodie since it was October and headed outside so I wouldn't disturb my mom as she tried to get Asher to go back to sleep.

~

One and a half hours later

Once I'd finished the song to my standards, I unlocked my phone and opened the voice recorder app. Since I still couldn't manage to play a guitar and I didn't have a keyboard or piano, I had to sing it acapella and hope I didn't mess up and have to redo it too many times.

Your little brother never tells you, but he loves you so  
You said your mother only smiled on her TV show  
You're only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope  
I hope you make it to the day you're 28-years-old

You're dripping like a saturated sunrise  
You're spilling like an overflowing sink  
You're ripped at every edge, but you're a masterpiece  
And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink

Everything is blue; his pills, his hands, his jeans  
And now I'm covered in the colors, pulled apart at the seams  
And it's blue, and it's blue

Everything is grey; his hair, his smoke, his dreams  
And now he's so devoid of color; he don't know what it means  
And he's blue, and he's blue

You were a vision in the morning when the light came through  
I know I've only felt religion when I've lied with you  
You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too  
And I'm still waking every morning, but it's not with you

You're dripping like a saturated sunrise  
You're spilling like an overflowing sink  
You're ripped at every edge, but you're a masterpiece  
And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink

Everything is blue; his pills, his hands, his jeans  
And now I'm covered in the colors, pulled apart at the seams  
And it's blue, and it's blue

Everything is grey; his hair, his smoke, his dreams  
And now he's so devoid of color; he don't know what it means  
And he's blue, and he's blue

You were red and you liked me 'cause I was blue  
But you touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky  
And you decided purple just wasn't for you

Everything is blue; his pills, his hands, his jeans  
And now I'm covered in the colors, pulled apart at the seams  
And it's blue, and it's blue

Everything is grey; his hair, his smoke, his dreams  
And now he's so devoid of color; he don't know what it means  
And he's blue, and he's blue

Everything is blue, everything is blue  
Everything is blue, everything is blue

I listened to the recording to make sure it was good enough before I sent Kenzie – because I knew that, even though it was 3am back in London, she would still be awake – the audio file along with a quick 'Came up with this on the flight here and worked all night on it. Hopefully we can use it for the album??' message. A few minutes later – exactly the amount of time it would have taken her to listen to the audio – she texted me back.

I couldn't help but laugh softly and we texted for a few more minutes before I told her I was going to bed, already walking back into the house and locking the door behind me  
I couldn't help but laugh softly and we texted for a few more minutes before I told her I was going to bed, already walking back into the house and locking the door behind me. She replied with a goodnight message and I plugged my phone into the charger, put it on my nightstand, and I was asleep within a couple minutes of lying down.

~

Title/song used: "Colors" by Halsey


	27. I Guess I Was Running from Something

Michael's POV

"Can we just have one day where you're not moping around and feeling sorry for yourself?" Ashton huffed in the middle of another one of Calum's tangents about how he didn't want to go out for the fifth weekend in a row.

"I'm allowed to mope, Ashton," Calum reminded him.

Luke snorted softly, "Mari has more of a reason to mope than you do but she's not."

"How do you know that?" he replied.

"They've been in the studio pretty much since they got home," he answered harshly, "But I wouldn't expect you to know that since you spend all your time in bed bitching about how sad you are." Not wanting to hear another one of Calum's excuses, Luke stood up abruptly and left the room. Unfortunately for him, however, he wasn't able to get away that easily.

"You would be sad if you broke up with your girlfriend too, Luke!" Calum called after him.

"At least Luke doesn't break up with people without a damn reason," Ashton spat, leaving as well. Calum grumbled under his breath, looking at me.

"You gonna get pissy with me too?" he asked.

I was silent for a moment, trying to think of what I wanted to say. Well... Actually, I knew what I wanted to say – I just knew it wouldn't be helpful to any of us to say it. It hurt to know how much Mari was still hurting over the breakup – we still texted every day, of course – and as much as I wanted to cuss Calum out for everything he was putting her through, it wasn't going to help the situation at all.

"Cal," I sighed, "The distance thing... It was temporary. That girl could be your forever. And you're willing to just throw it all away because she lives in another country? This might be the stupidest thing you've ever done. For someone claiming to be in love with the girl, you're pretty shit at showing it." I walked away before he had the chance to respond, letting him make the decision on his own.

~

Calum's POV

Three days later; London

I knew the boys weren't going to be pleased to find out I'd left without any warning – though, I did leave a note telling them I'd be back soon – but I knew I had to go find Mari. I knew everyone meant well in their lectures with me about what I did – and I knew they were right as well – I guess I just didn't want to admit it. But I knew that I had to make it right with Mari – I had to do it because I loved her.

My sister picked me up from the airport and took me straight to the recording studio – Kaylynn had tweeted about being there today. She didn't say anything to me the whole ride, which I wasn't too surprised about – both her and my parents hadn't really wanted to speak to me since they found out what happened through the boys.

Mali parked out front and we both went in – she finally told me she needed to talk to someone whose name I didn't catch. She went her own way after waving to a girl at the front desk while I went up to the girl sitting beside her.

"Where can I find Lost and Found?" I asked her, earning myself a dirty look – and I instantly knew she was a friend of Mari's. When I realized she wasn't going to tell me anything, my jaw tightened. "Listen," I grumbled, "I don't know you and you don't know me and my business is not with you, so I need you to do your job and tell me where the band is so I can apologize to the people I need to apologize to." She looked at me again for a moment before muttered a 'B' to me. I snapped back with a harsh 'thank you' before heading in the direction of studio B.

As I was walking toward the door, I could hear Mari's voice singing. My heart was beating so hard, I honestly thought I was going to throw up as I then heard her stop and Kenzie speak.

"Can you play the second verse and pre-chorus again, Will?" she asked the producer, "I think I know what Mari's going for, but I just need to hear it again."

"Sure thing, Kenz," Will replied, hitting play on what was obviously a recording. I sighed softly, realizing Mari wasn't actually there – at least not that I knew of – but stopped at the door, wanting to hear what was only something I could assume Mari had written.

You were a vision in the morning when the light came through  
I know I've only felt religion when I've lied with you  
You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too  
And I'm still waking every morning but it's not with you

You're dripping like a saturated sunrise  
You're spilling like an overflowing sink  
You're ripped at every edge, but you're a masterpiece  
And now you're tearing through the pages and the ink

I leaned up against the wall, not even paying attention to Will and Kenzie's exchanges anymore. I could hear the strain in Mari's voice and I knew it was because of me – I knew that verse was about me. And I was sure she wouldn't want to see me, but I knew I had to see her.

The moment I stepped into the doorway, Kenzie immediately stopped singing and laughed bitterly.

"Absolutely not," she stated, causing Kaylynn, Vanessa, and Will to look over – while Mari was nowhere to be found. Vanessa simply rolled her eyes, resting back on the couch she was sitting on, but it seemed like Kaylynn was the most upset to see me there. She got up from her spot beside Vanessa, marched over, and backed me out of the room so I was standing in the middle of the hallway.

Kaylynn's POV

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" I spat, crossing my arms and leaning against the door frame.

"Heard you guys were in the studio today," Calum swallowed nervously.

"Oh, you still follow me on Twitter?" I laughed bitterly, "Surprised you didn't block all of us after we left Sydney."

"I need to talk to Mari."

"Well, Mari's not here – wasn't feeling up to it," I replied monotonously, "She hasn't felt like doing much of anything since we got home now that I think about it. She did write a kick-ass song though, so I guess that's something decent that came out of this."

"Kaylynn-"

"You broke my best friend's heart, Hood," I growled, "You think we're just going to let you come back and do it all over again? You ruined her. You became so much more than just her celebrity crush and the fact that you could just tear her down like that? You were very convincing though; You had all of us fooled with the way you looked at her – like she put the stars in the sky, I seem to recall hearing you tell the boys during soundcheck one day."

"I swear, Kaylynn..." he choked, "I swear to God, none of that was fake. I never should have broken up with her because of something so stupid. I need to see her, Kay, please. Even if she doesn't forgive me, I just need her to know I love her."

I froze at the confession; I should have known that's why he was here. If the last six months really didn't mean anything to him, why would he have flown to London and be begging to see Mari now? Of course he was in love with her; He wouldn't be doing all this if he wasn't.

I let out a breath, walking over to the table in the room. I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, going back to where Calum was still stood at the door. I scribbled a couple things down and shoved it into Calum's chest.

"If you don't fix this and she calls me later to yell at me for telling you where she is, I'm going to fly back to Sydney and kill you myself," I warned him.

"Thank you," Calum let out a deep breath, taking the paper and running back down the hallway.

Calum's POV

I quickly found Mali as she was walking toward another room, grabbing her forearm and dragging her along with me.

"Calum!" she exclaimed, huffing when I didn't respond. She simply sighed and got into the driver's seat of her car as I sat shotgun. "Where are we going?" Mali asked as she started the car, understandably annoyed I forced her back outside. It wasn't until then that I looked down at the paper Kaylynn had given me and read it.

Indianapolis

"The airport," I murmured, realizing Mari had gone back home.

"Cal," my sister groaned, but pulled onto the street anyway, "We were just there!"

"Mali, please," I pouted, making her roll her eyes.

"If she forgives you and you screw up this big again, call an Uber the next time you come back to London to beg for her forgiveness," she stated. I smiled slightly, knowing she was still taking me back to the airport.

~

An hour later, Mali dropped me off at the airport. I thanked her profusely, to which she only replied with 'Just make sure you fix it, Calum; I actually like her' – which was certainly something considering my sister never really liked any of the girls I've dated before.

I ran inside the building, making a beeline to the first information desk I saw. The woman sitting there clearly looked confused as I was practically shoving people to get to her.

"Hello, sir..." she said slowly when I reached her, "Welcome to London City Airport. What can I do for you?"

"I need to get on a flight Indianapolis like, right now," I breathed heavily from running, leaning onto the desk.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the last flight left ten minutes ago," she said apologetically, "I can get you a ticket for the next one, but that won't be for another week.

"Are you sure there are no other options?" I begged, desperate to see Mari at this point.

"You could try connecting flights," she shook her head, looking at her computer as she typed, "But it looks like it'll still take you about a week to get to where you actually need."

"Okay," I sighed, putting my face in my palms so my voice was slightly muffled, "I'll just take the earliest Indianapolis one you have."

I paid the woman for my ticket and she told me when to be back at the airport next week. I stalked back outside, calling myself an Uber – I didn't really want to force Mali to turn around and come back as she was already annoyed with me for making her drive two hours to and from the airport that day, and I returned to my sister's place about an hour later – much to her surprise.

"Cal, what are you doing here?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"Next flight to Indianapolis isn't for another week," I mumbled. Mali sighed, moving out of the way and allowing me to walk into her apartment.

"You're an idiot, Calum," she told me.

"I know," I swallowed, "I've been hearing it a lot over the past few weeks."

"Yeah, well, you haven't been hearing it from me," she stated, crossing her arms, "Did you really think this was going to go over smoothly? Did you think everyone was going to sympathize with your reasoning for breaking up with Mari? Did you think Mari wouldn't have given long-distance a shot either?"

"Mali..."

"No, Calum! I'm not gonna baby you about this the way everyone else has!" she exclaimed, "Every time I saw you and Mari together, you were both so happy – I've never seen you that happy with someone you were dating before! What made you think that was going to change just because she lived 11,000 miles away?!"

"I don't know, Mali," I sighed, "I don't do well with long-distance – you know that."

"Mari deserved that explanation, Cal! She deserved more than you telling her that the distance was too much! She deserved the chance to try to make it work rather than you just not giving her the option!"

"I know, okay?!" I threw my arms up, "I know I fucked up! I know I'm an asshole! I know! But as much as you and me and everyone else wishes I could, I can't go back and change it! I can't go back in time and stop myself from breaking her heart, and I don't even know if flying all the way to Indianapolis is going to make it all better, but I'm trying, okay?! Because as hard as it is for you and Mum and everyone else to believe, nobody hates me right now more than I do!" I ended my rant by throwing myself onto the couch, putting my hands on my face and breathing in and out slowly to calm myself down. I heard Mali sigh to herself before feeling the seat dip as she sat next to me.

"You're an idiot," she repeated in a whisper.

I only laughed dryly, "Tell me something I don't know." I wasn't expecting to get an answer, but Mali started talking again.

"Nothing's gonna make everyone forget what happened, Cal," she told me, "But I know Mari... And I know that she's the most forgiving person there is... So if she forgives you, then that's the only person's opinion on the situation that you need to care about." I removed my hands from my face to look at her, finding her already looking at me.

"Thanks, Mali," I said, my voice hardly even coming out. She barely smiled, wrapping her arm around my neck and pulling me into her for a hug.

~

Title: "Outer Space" by 5 Seconds of Summer  
Song used: "Colors" by Halsey


	28. I Was Running Back to You

Calum's POV

One week later; 12:45pm

The moment the plane landed on the tarmac in Indianapolis, I thought I was going to throw up. There was no guarantee that Mari would be at home or that Lori wouldn't refuse to tell me where she was or that she would even let me see her at all.

After deboarding, I called an Uber for the 25-minute ride to Mari's house and just listened to the driver talk – occasionally adding to the conversation here and there but I was mainly silent. I thanked the woman as she pulled up to the curb to let me out, both of us giving each other a goodbye. I closed the car door and listened to her pull away while I took a deep breath and walked to the porch.

I stood in front of the door for a moment, finding myself unable to move. I'd obviously been here during tour, but I just couldn't make myself knock. There was a different feeling now. Now, I was afraid someone would slam the door in my face before I could even say a single word – not that I would blame them if they did – but I just needed to talk to Mari and I was terrified she wouldn't let me.

~

Mari's POV; 1:10pm

I suddenly began to hear frantic knocking on the front door, making my eyes widen. I had only just put Asher down for his nap 15 minutes ago and I was not going to be happy if he was woken up. I threw my blanket off of my legs and quietly raced downstairs to look through the peephole, but whoever was there was covering it. I rolled my eyes and cracked the door open, my heart immediately skipping a beat.

"Calum?" I murmured, opening the door all the way, "What are you... How did you know I was here?"

"I made Kaylynn tell me," he said, "She wasn't happy about it, but she still told me."

"Why are you here?" I whispered.

"I made a mistake, Mar," he shook his head, a desperate tone in his voice, "I never wanted this to be an on-tour thing that ended after the last show." And it almost hurt to hear him use my nickname again...

Almost.

"Then why did you say it was over?" my voice cracked, my eyes welling up with tears. He moved his hands as if he was going to wipe my cheeks, but he forced his arms to stay at his side, probably thinking that I wouldn't want him to touch me – which wasn't entirely untrue.

"Because I just... I've never done well with long distance and I didn't want you to feel like it was your fault... I didn't want you to feel guilty for living so far away whenever I told you I miss you..." he answered, looking down at his feet, "I wasn't thinking about how ending it would have made you feel or what we could have done to make it work. If it makes you feel any better, I've been miserable since the moment the words left my mouth. No one will talk to me unless it's to tell me how stupid I am – my mum, especially." I was silent for a moment, eyeing him carefully, as I took in how genuinely sorry he really was – although, I was quite pleased to hear that even Joy was giving him a hard time.

"Makes me feel a little better," I said softly. He looked back up at me after chuckling softly. "Do you... Do you wanna come in?" I asked him. He swallowed, barely nodding his head. I moved out of the way so he could come in, quietly closing the door. However, when I turned around to face him again, Calum couldn't hold himself back.

"I'm in love with you," he blurted out, his eyes immediately shutting tightly. My breathing hitched and I just stared at him. When I still didn't speak after a few seconds, it was clear he was starting to get nervous. "Mari, please say something," he muttered, his eyes still closed.

But that was the problem; I wasn't sure what to say. So I just did the first thing that came to my mind.

Calum's POV

To say I was shocked to feel Mari's hands on my cheeks and her lips on mine was an understatement. My eyes shot open before fluttering back closed, my hands finding her hips and pulling her against me. We both let out sighs of relief, smiling when the other's grip tightened at the same time.

When she pulled away to breathe, I rested my forehead on hers. Her right arm slid around my neck while her left hand remained on my face, her thumb stroking my cheekbone.

"I'm in love with you too, Cal," Mari whispered, making me let out another deep breath.

"Am?" I murmured, "As in still?" She chuckled quietly, nodding her head.

"You're a complete asshole and I hate you for what you did," she shrugged, pressing a kiss to my nose, "But yeah – still."

"A complete asshole who's really, really sorry," I nodded in agreement, "And is also really, really hoping you'll forgive him."

"I forgive you, Cal," she told me, making me smile lightly. Her grip on my neck then tightened and my smile dropped again. "But if you ever do something like that again-" She spoke with a threatening tone. "-I'll be on the first red-eye flight back to Sydney to kick your ass." I couldn't help but laugh under my breath.

"Kaylynn said the same thing when she told me you came back home," I told her, "Except she said she was going to kill me."

"I guess the question now is which one of us are you more afraid of?" I pretended to think about it for a moment.

"I think I'm pretty terrified of both of you equally," I answered.

"You should be," she mumbled, pressing her lips back to mine. I couldn't keep myself from smiling – which ultimately shortened the kiss, but I was too happy she hadn't kicked me out of her house to care.

When we pulled away again, I felt her start twirling the ends of my hair with her fingertips. I pressed a kiss to her forehead, moving back to find a puzzled look on her face that made me tilt my head.

"Did you not come here with anything?" Mari asked, finally realizing I would have had to Uber here and that I didn't show up with any bags.

"No..." I said shyly, "To be honest, I really didn't think you were going to forgive me."

"So does that mean you're going home today too?" she bit her inner cheek.

"You know, the band doesn't have anything scheduled appearance-wise until the iHeart Awards in April..." I pointed out, "And I could always have the boys send some stuff to London... Luke and I can write together on Skype... Plane tickets can be refunded..."

"You're gonna live with me until April?" she raised her eyebrows, obviously a little skeptical.

"If you'll have me," I mumbled.

"What about when you have to go home again?" her voice cracked involuntarily.

"My home is wherever you are, baby girl," I said firmly, tightening my hold on her, "Even if I can't be with you physically, I'm always right here-" I brought my hand up, gently poking the skin above her heart.

"Calum Hood, you are the cheesiest person I've ever met," she said with a light blush on her cheeks, making me grin widely.

"I love you, princess," I said just before my lips were back on hers.

"I love you too, Cal," she whispered between kisses, and I was so grateful I finally had her back.

~

Title: "Outer Space" by 5 Seconds of Summer


	29. The Sun Goes Down and It Comes Back Up

Calum's POV

"Mawi?" we heard a small voice come from the hallway, "Who hewe?" I could feel Mari tense up slightly as she moved away from me before her brother saw us kissing, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for his reaction to seeing me there. Asher took one look at me before narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. "Mawi," he stated, looking up at his sister, "Calum go home." Mari snorted softly while I just sighed in defeat.

"I don't think that's gonna happen just yet, bud," she told him, both of us curious as to what his reaction to hearing that would be.

"No," he frowned, stomping his little foot in protest, "Calum go home."

"Asher," she warned gently, "You know we don't talk to people like that." His frown grew even more, causing her to sigh. "Go sit, Ashy," she pointed to the couch, "I think you and Cal need to talk." He crossed his arms even tighter, shaking his head. "You can either be a big boy and go yourself or I can carry you over there," she said sternly so he knew she was being serious, "But you're going to sit on that couch." Asher, apparently realizing he wasn't going to win, treaded over to the couch. He climbed up and laid down while I just watched nervously.

My heart felt like it was going to come up through my throat. I didn't know why I was so scared to talk to him – especially after how scared I'd been to talk to Mari – but all I knew was that I was. 

When Asher wasn't looking, Mari pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before putting her hands on my back and nudging me into the room. As my feet managed to carry me to the couch, Mari slipped into the kitchen to give her brother and I a moment alone – though, I knew she'd still be listening.

I kneeled down beside the couch where Asher was, but before I could even open my mouth to say anything, he huffed lightly, turning so his back was facing me. I sighed softly – there was no way to ease into this, so I just had to do it.

"C'mon, Asher," I pleaded, "You can't ignore me forever."

"You made Mawi cwy," he stated. I began chewing on my inner cheek, finally sitting cross-legged on the floor beside him.

"I know, bud," I said softly, "And I'm sure I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for all those tears. But, you know, Mari forgave me for everything... And now, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry too." It was silent for a moment before I watched Asher turn back so he was facing me again.

"Why you say sowwy to me?" he mumbled curiously.

"Because I know how much you love her and how you had to listen to her cry since she got home," I told him, "And I know how hard that must have been on you because I have a big sister too."

"You do?"

"I do," I smiled slightly before letting it fade, "And I know how mad I get at people when they make her cry and it makes me even more mad when they don't tell her they're sorry for doing it. But I told your sister I was sorry, so I'm hoping her little brother forgives me like she did."

"Mawi fowgive you?" he asked. I simply hummed in response.

Asher then pushed himself up and crawled off the side of the couch, climbing onto the floor beside my knee. He stepped into the open space in my lap and hugged me.

"I fowgive you too," he assured me. I let out a small sigh of relief and hugged him back.

It didn't take long for me to feel Asher's grip on me loosen, and I thought he was going to let go, but he didn't. Instead, I just heard soft snoring in my ear. I chuckled softly, carefully lifting him up before I stood up myself, only to lie down on the couch with him on my chest. He stirred a bit, but only until he made himself comfortable and went back to sleep.

When Mari hadn't heard anything, she finally came out from around the corner, smiling at her brother and I. She plopped down on the adjacent couch, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. I was starting to doze off myself when I suddenly heard what sounded an awful lot like a camera shutter going off.

"Mar," I murmured, unable to keep myself from grinning, "What are you doing?"

"Nothin'" she replied innocently. I instantly took my phone out of my pocket to find a notification that Mari had tweeted a photo.

"'Nothing', huh?" I smiled, turning my phone after opening it so she could watch what she'd just posted pop up on the screen.

It was the photo of Asher and I with the caption 'Hard to believe that my brother was refusing to speak to him right before this', already receiving hundreds of interactions – gaining even more after I'd retweeted it myself.

"Nothing... Something... Who cares?" she shrugged, putting her phone back in her pocket as I did the same with mine. It was silent again for a moment. "He really loves you, you know," Mari told me. I looked up at her to find she was already smiling fondly at Asher as he slept on top of me. "After we left for Australia – before everything that happened – and I would talk to him on the phone before he went to bed, he would always ask if you were coming with me when I came back to visit."

I couldn't help but chuckle softly, "Could've fooled me."

"Well, he loves me more," she snickered, "You're just gonna have to get used to it." I let out another laugh as I exhaled, smiling slightly. We both looked back at the TV, neither of us speaking for a moment, before I found myself looking back over at her.

"Hey, princess," I said, causing her to return her gaze to me, "I love you." Mari didn't say anything – she just looked down at her lap and smiled, probably hoping I wouldn't notice her cheeks turn red.

~

Title: "Just Hold On" by Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson


	30. The World, It Turns No Matter What

Mari's POV; 3:45pm

I was in the middle of moving the cookies I'd baked off of the cookie sheet once they'd finally cooled while Calum had gone upstairs to get Asher washed up so we could decorate them. I took the plate of cookies to the dining room table and while I was digging through the pantry to get the icing and sprinkles and everything, I heard the front door open and then close – and I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't skip a beat.

Since my mom had been at work, she obviously didn't know Calum had flown in to see me. I knew her feelings about him changed after the breakup – she seemed even more upset than me at times – so I didn't know how she'd react to finding out he was here. But it wasn't like I could exactly avoid it.

"I smell cookies," my mom said, walking into the room.

"I would hope so," I mentioned, closing the pantry door with my foot and bringing everything over to the table. Mom put her keys down on the counter and hung her purse on the barstool.

"You and Asher make them?" she asked.

"No, I made them while he was napping," I answered, "But he just woke up, so he is gonna help decorate some."

"You not get him out of bed yet?" she asked. She finally looked over at the table, tilting her head in surprise. "Wow, Mar," she let out a soft laugh, "Baking for the neighborhood today, are we?"

"I... No... You know..." I cleared my throat, "We've got a fourth person staying for a couple days..."

"What?" she furrowed her eyebrows, "Mom didn't mention-"

"It's not Grandma, Mom..." I told her, only confusing her even more.

"Then who would be staying for a couple days?" she wondered. But I didn't get the chance to respond before we heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"I'm gonna make a pink cookie with lots of spwinkles for Mommy!" Asher announced, bouncing on Calum's hip.

I heard my boyfriend chuckle in response, "That's very nice of you, bud; I'm sure Mummy will really love it!" Calum turned the corner after stepping off the staircase, only to freeze the moment he reached the threshold and noticed my mom standing there.

My mom glanced at Calum for a moment before cocking an eyebrow at me while I just scrunched my face up in nervousness. I had no idea what to say, or any idea how she'd react, but Asher was the first to speak.

"Mommy, look!" he smiled widely, "Calum hewe!" The toddler hugged Calum's neck tightly, and I noticed my mom's body relax a bit.

"Yeah, Ashy – I can see that..." she acknowledged her son but her eyes never left the person holding him, "Why...?" Both Calum and I started to speak, but Asher beat us to it.

"He say sowwy to me and Mawi," he informed her.

"I did..." Calum finally spoke, a bashful smile on his face, "And it's suddenly occurred to me that there's a third person I need to apologize to..."

I watched on nervously, unaware of what was going on in my mom's head right now and honestly a bit scared of what she was going to say to him. But of all the scenarios that played out in my head within the span of 10 seconds, none of them were what actually happened.

"Well, if Asher forgave you, I think I'd look pretty ridiculous if I still held a grudge," Mom said.

I couldn't help but snort softly, "You should have seen him when Cal got here then." My mom simply shot Calum a smile, making him breathe a small sigh of relief, before speaking again.

"So what's this I hear about lots of sprinkles?" she wondered.

Asher frowned, "It 'posed to be a s'pwise." Calum and I laughed again as he brought Asher over to the table, setting him in his highchair while I put a cookie, frosting tube, and jar of sprinkles on its table.

"Okay, okay," Mom put her hands up in surrender, "I won't come back in here until you're done with it." She then looked at Calum and I. "No food fights this time," she ordered, walking out of the room.

"We cleaned it up!"

"Michael started it!" the both of us shouted at the same time, hearing her laugh as she sat down on the living room couch to watch TV.

~

Calum's POV; 8:00pm

Mari and I were sitting on the couch while Lori was giving Asher his bath and putting him to bed. I perked up as my phone started ringing with the tone I'd set for Facetime. I pulled it out of my pocket, finding Ashton's name on the screen.

"I'm about to get yelled at for leaving so suddenly," I groaned, only making Mari giggle. I answered the call and Ashton popped up on the screen, but didn't even have the chance to say 'hello' before I heard Michael's voice.

"Please tell us it's true!" he exclaimed, poking his head into frame. Ashton simply adjusted his phone so that he, Michael, and Luke could all be in the shot as they spoke to me.

"What?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. It was obvious to me that they'd just woken up, so I knew they'd had no idea about me and Mari. Or did they?

"We just got on Twitter and saw you and Mari trending!" Luke chirped, "What happened? Is that why you left? Are you with Mari?" Mari giggled at all the questions, crawling over to me and resting her chin on my shoulder so they could finally see her.

"Hi, guys," she grinned.

"Mari!" all three of them shouted simultaneously, making us both laugh that time.

"Are you guys back together?!" Ashton asked excitedly. She looked at me curiously for a moment before turning back to the boys.

"Unless I blacked out and this is all a dream, yeah," she nodded.

I chuckled under my breath, propping my foot up on the coffee table so I could rest my forearm on my knee. I put my other hand on Mari's thigh, tugging on her so her legs overlapped mine. She repositioned herself to do so comfortably, wiggling her arms around my waist and loosely hugging me as she laid her head on my shoulder.

"So you guys are good again?" Luke wondered hopefully. I felt Mari nod, making me turn to kiss her head, then feeling her smile into my shirt.

"Thank God!" Michael shouted, "I was getting so sick of Cal's moping!" I rolled my eyes in response while the girl beside me just giggled again.

"You guys know I love you more than anything, but Cal and I have a lot to catch up on, so..." she said. All three of them instantly groaned.

"Gross," Ashton shook his head, "We didn't need to know that."

"Use protection, kids!" Luke insisted.

"Goodbye," Mari rolled her eyes that time, the arm on top of my stomach moving to end the Facetime call. "They're children," she grumbled, returning her arm to where it had been while I just set my phone on the couch cushion beside us, "How do they survive on their own?"

"They don't," I laughed lightly again, pressing another kiss to her forehead.

~

Title: "Just Hold On" by Steve Aoki & Louis Tomlinson


	31. Darling, I'm a Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream

Mari's POV; Four days later

London

"Ash, I'm not moving here permanently," Calum said into his phone as he walked out of my bedroom.

We had been back in London for a couple hours now, only just arriving back at my apartment when Calum's phone started ringing. He had obviously told the band he was staying with me for the next six months before we left Indianapolis, and Ashton apparently had a few choice things to say about the last-minute planning of it all but was only able to get ahold of his bandmate after we got home.

"I told you why already, Ashton-" I could just tell Calum was rolling his eyes, making me laugh softly. "-I'm staying with Mar until the iHeart Awards. ... I'm not asking you to send me all of my belongings. ... I'll be back for a couple weeks during Christmas anyway; I just need you to send some clothes, my guitar, and my journals! ... Well, then you can yell at me then. ..." He sighed sharply, "Yes, Ashton, I will pay you back for shipping. ... Are you gonna send my stuff or not? ... Thank you. ... Yeah, I'll talk to you guys later. ... Bye." He sighed again, a little more softly this time, stuffing his phone back into his pocket and coming into the kitchen where I was.

"Is Ash mothering you again?" I snickered, making him frown.

"I didn't realize I was moving out of my parent's house just to move in with another mum," he grumbled, cracking a smile when I giggled again. I walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"He cares about you, Cal," I reminded him while his own arms wrapped around my waist.

"I know," he sighed again, kissing my forehead, "He can just be a bit much sometimes."

"Kinda like you when I caught that cold on tour?" I grinned.

"That's different," he pouted, "You were sick; I didn't want it to get worse."

"You were still mothering me, Cal," I giggled.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes, "But at least it wasn't as bad as when Kenz lost her voice."

"Jesus," I laughed again, "I thought Ash was actually going to burn the place down."

"Pretty sure he would've if it hadn't been for the fact that it was in Sydney and his mum was there to calm him down."

"God bless Anne," I sighed, only to let out a sharp shriek when I felt Calum's fingers start poking at my sides.

"C-C-Cal! Stop!" I begged through my involuntary laughter.

"Ah, what's the magic word?" he shook his head. I huffed lightly, not wanting to admit defeat but knowing I had to – he was a lot stronger than me and I wouldn't be able to fight him off.

I quickly moved my arms from around his neck and let my hands slide to his cheeks, pulling his face to mine. I felt him smile as he kissed me, finally stopping the tickling. When I pulled away, I watched his eyes flutter open and he looked at me with a fond expression.

"I love you," Calum told me, and I couldn't keep the grin off my own face.

"Pretty sure you've said that a hundred times since you woke up this morning," I commented.

"Have to make up for all the times I was too afraid to say it," he replied, only making my smile get bigger.

"I love you too," I said softly, earning myself another bright grin as he kissed me again.

~

Calum's POV; The next morning

"Cal, you'll be fine," Mari assured me with a roll of her eyes as we walked side-by-side down the long hallway to the room the rest of Lost and Found was waiting in.

Mari had gotten a text from Kenzie that they were going into the studio to write some new songs. She asked me if I wanted to tag along – and I did, but I was still a bit nervous about it. Mari's bandmates and I hadn't seen or spoken to each other since I randomly showed up that day I was looking for Mari, and I had a sinking feeling that it wasn't going to go well this time either despite the fact that Mari had forgiven me for what I did.

"I don't know..." I mumbled, "They were really mad..."

"Are you cheating on me with one of them?" she asked calmly, taking me by surprise.

"W-What?" I shook my head in disbelief – where did that even come from?

"Are you in a relationship with any of them?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed softly, "Why would you thi-"

"Then why are you so worried?" she shook her own head and I felt her hand squeeze mine, "Why are you so worried what they think?"

"Because they're your best friends," I grumbled, "I don't want them to hate me... If you had to pick between me and them, I know you'd pick them..."

"But I don't have to pick, Cal," she smiled gently, "So please stop being nervous."

"Okay," I exhaled sharply, "You're right; I can do this." I heard a soft giggle beside me, letting my body relax as Mari tugged me into the room.

"Hey, guys!" she beamed, making her friends look up.

"Mari!" they cheered in unison, "We've missed you!" She let go of my hand to hug her bandmates while I just stood in the doorway.

"Calum," Kaylynn nodded, but her voice was monotone.

"Kay," Mari warned with a slight smile on her face, "You promised."

"I'm being nice!" she defended.

"Yeah," Kenzie agreed before looking over at me, "Just gonna take a while to get used to having you around again." I swallowed lightly but nodded in agreement – I can't imagine how they must have felt having to watch Mari go through the break up, only to have the person who did it to her back in her life.

"So," Mari chirped, coming back over to me as she spoke to the girls, "What are we thinking about writing today?" She took my hand and pulled me over to the couch, making me sit down before taking her own seat on my lap. I looked at her with a small grin, barely noticing the other girls watching out of the corner of my eye.

"We're not sure yet," Vanessa sighed, "Geoff said we need at least one new song before iHeart, but we haven't been able to come up with anything."

"Well, we have ideas of what we'd like to do," Kenzie interjected, "We just don't know which would be better for the show."

"How about we don't focus on iHeart right now?" Mari suggested.

"But we have to get something written for it," she shook her head.

"I know," she nodded, "But it's a lot harder to write a song when you're stressing yourself out over it." I let out a breath of agreement, making Mari glance at me since she was the only one close enough to hear it.

"You mean write a practice song?" Kaylynn asked curiously.

"Something like that," she shrugged, "And if we like it enough, we can release it later."

"So what are you thinking then?"

"Well... Older people are always complaining that 'songs these days have no meaning' and 'the lyrics are just a bunch of gibberish'," Mari shook her head, a smile beginning to form on her face, "So let's just give them what they expect to hear."

"You mean like, Blank Space style?" Kenzie grinned.

"Crazier," she perked up, "Let's make ourselves into the psycho bitches people seem to think we are!"

"I could get into this," Kaylynn snickered.

"I'm definitely in," Vanessa giggled.

~

Two hours later

"Okay," Kenzie plopped back down in her seat, a guitar now on her lap, "Are we ready to put it all together?"

"Hope it sounds good," Vanessa said as she finished tuning her own guitar.

"I hope it feels good!" Mari announced. I couldn't help but groan involuntarily as I was looking at my phone, earning a chorus of laughs.

"If you think the 5SOS references are bad when you're here, you should see her when you're not," Kenzie mentioned, making me look at them.

"You all know not to say 'sounds good' around me!" my girlfriend frowned, "It's a reflex that haunts me every day; I wish I could control it, but I can't!"

"Now you're just being dramatic," I snorted softly.

"You haven't seen dramatic yet, Calum," Vanessa shook her head with a smile. Mari simply rolled her eyes and began playing the song, making the girls laugh again as she was silently telling them the conversation was over.

[Kenzie]

I screen saved all the photos from your family vacations  
I checked out all your Spotify recommendations  
I followed you on Twitter and Instagram too  
Is there anywhere else I can find you?

[Vanessa, Kaylynn]

Every 15 minutes, I'm refreshing your page  
Refreshing your page, refreshing your page  
Every 15 minutes, I'm refreshing your page  
Refreshing your page, refreshing your page

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

It was love at first sight, except you tried to ignore me  
You were playing hard to get  
Now I wanna be your girlfriend, but you can't ignore me   
'Cause I found you on the internet

Now I always know who you're with, where you are, and what you're doing  
I just wish it was me that you were pursuing  
And the funny thing is, you haven't got a clue  
That I've got a crush on you

[Kaylynn]

I get notified you've posted on Facebook  
Sure enough, there's a new photo on your wall  
Within a few minutes, I see some blonde chick liked it  
I bet that she's your late night booty call

[Vanessa]

You send out a tweet that today was a great day  
But how it could be without me there?  
I bet it's 'cause you're sleeping with that blonde chick on Facebook  
The one with the bleached, peroxide hair

[Kenzie, Kaylynn]

Every 15 minutes, I'm refreshing your page  
Refreshing your page, refreshing your page  
Every 15 minutes, I'm refreshing your page  
Refreshing your page, refreshing your page

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

It was love at first sight, except you tried to ignore me  
Tried to ignore me, tried to ignore me  
So I found you online and now you can't ignore me   
You can't ignore me, you can't ignore me

Now I always know who you're with, where you are, and what you're doing  
I just wish it was me that you were pursuing  
And the funny thing is, you haven't got a clue  
That I've got a crush on you

I watched Mari quickly pull out her phone and toss it to me. I caught it and unlocked it, already knowing what she wanted me to do. I opened her camera and started recording her just before she started singing her part of the song.

[Mari]

You'll never know the pain I feel as I watch you from afar  
I can't deny that my love is real  
I even know who your friends of friends of friends are

I never knew how love could hurt until I put you on my Google alert  
Every post, every tweet; It's so hard to see that it's not about me  
Not about me

[Kenzie, Vanessa, Kaylynn]

It was love at first sight, except you tried to ignore me  
Tried to ignore me, tried to ignore me  
So I found you online and now you can't ignore me   
You can't ignore me, you can't ignore me

Now, I always know who you're with, where you are, and what you're doing  
I just wish it was me that you were pursuing  
And the funny thing is, you haven't got a clue  
That I've got a crush on you

[Mari]

Oh crap, you just blocked me from viewing your Facebook  
Crap, you just blocked me from your Twitter too  
You sent me an email to leave you alone

Well, guess what...   
I still like you

The song ended and the girls immediately busted out laughing.

"That was so good!" Kenzie cheered, "We're definitely recording and releasing it for real!"

"I say we get some secondary opinions though," Mari snickered, coming back to me.

I handed her phone back to her as she plopped down beside me. I glanced at her screen, watching her open her messages and compose a new one. She sent the video in a group text to Ashton, Michael, and Luke, along with a message: Part of the new song we're working on so far!!! What do you guys think?

"They are gonna be so confused," I couldn't help but chuckle.

~

Title: "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift  
Song used: "Crush" by Taryn Southern


	32. My Head's Underwater, But I'm Breathing Fine

Mari's POV

"What the fuck, Mari?" Michael asked the moment he, Luke, and Ashton popped onto my phone screen.

"Do you guys like it?" I smiled innocently as the other girls came around to the back of the couch to join me on Facetime.

"It's, uh..." Ashton trailed off, "It's...new..."

"Yeah..." Luke nodded slowly, "It's... It's different than I was expecting... You're, uh... You guys are working on...expanding your sound..."

"They're certainly doing something," Michael snorted, whining when Ashton elbowed him in the ribs.

"You don't like it?" Kenzie frowned, and the rest of us had to hold in our laughter because we knew she was just trying to break Ashton – since Calum wasn't in the frame, he didn't need to conceal his amused grin.

"No! That's not it at all!" the brunette said quickly, "You guys sound incredible! I... I really liked the, uh... The... The note Mar held was amazing!"

"What about the lyrics?" Kaylynn wondered, "Do you think they're good? We worked really hard on 'em."

"The lyrics, yeah..." Luke chimed in again, "The lyrics are... They're something else... You, uh... You don't hear lyrics like that very often..."

"Yeah, maybe there's a reason for that," Michael mumbled, only earning himself another shove from Ashton.

"I guess Mikey's not a fan," I sighed.

"He'll come around," Ashton shook his head rapidly, glaring at the guitarist before turning back to us.

"So you and Luke like it so far, right?" Kenzie asked. Luke and Ashton looked at each other for a moment before Vanessa decided to put them out of their misery.

"They're really drowning on dry land here, guys," she giggled, "Can't we end their suffering now?"

"What?" both boys asked simultaneously while Michael just cocked an eyebrow.

"It's not meant to be a legit song," I assured them with a smile, "We were just messing around before writing something for iHeart." They all sighed in relief, making the rest of us laugh loudly.

"It's really bad, guys," Luke breathed, shaking his head.

"It's not bad," Ashton interjected, "Like, it's a catchy song – it's just different from your normal stuff."

"But would you listen to it if we did decide to release it for real?" Kenzie asked.

"Ash would listen to you read the encyclopedia if you told him to," Kaylynn snickered, "I hardly think he's a reliable source to ask about this."

"I resent that," Ashton frowned, making us laugh again.

"Thanks for trying not to hurt our feelings, guys," I told them.

"Except Michael," Vanessa snorted softly.

"I wasn't gonna lie!" he rolled his eyes.

I just smiled again, "We'll talk to you guys later, okay?" They each nodded and I was about to end the call when Ashton stopped me.

"Hey, Mar," he said, "When you see Cal again, tell him his stuff should be there late next week."

"Thanks, Ash."

"Oh, and-"

"I will bug him every day about the shipping until he pays you back," I smirked lightly when Calum rolled his eyes.

"God bless you," Ashton sighed dramatically, "May your happiness be full and your crops be plentiful." I couldn't help but laugh loudly in response.

"Goodbye, Ashton," I told him. He teasingly blew me a kiss before I finally ended the call.

"He's so cute," Kenzie breathed out softly. We all groaned lightly before deciding to leave the studio for the day, knowing we weren't going to come up with anything for iHeart by trying to force it out of ourselves.

~

Calum's POV; 2:23am

Mari and I had hung out at her place for a while after getting back from the studio. When it came time for dinner, we went out to her favorite restaurant – she insisted I'd love it, and she wasn't wrong – and then went to see a movie.

When we got back a little after 11pm, Mari was already falling asleep. Instead of forcing herself to stay away until I went to bed like she usually did, she simply lazily kissed me goodnight and dragged herself into her bedroom while I just watched her with a smile.

It wasn't until nearly 2:30am that I decided to go to bed myself, turning off the television and making sure the front door was locked before quietly heading into Mari's room. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, rubbing my eyes slightly.

"Calum!" I heard Mari call out, causing me to turn the faucet off for a moment.

"What, Mar?" I replied, receiving no answer. I simply shrugged it off, turning the water back on to rinse off the toothbrush when I heard her say my name again.

"Cal..." she said a little softer, followed by a gasp.

It was then that I rushed out of the bathroom, finding Mari sitting straight up on the bed. The lamp on her nightstand was now on and I could see her cheeks glistening slightly.

She was breathing heavily, but her expression softened the moment her eyes found mine. She let out a deep sigh of relief as I hurried to the bed, climbing back up beside her. She instantly flung herself onto me, hugging me tightly.

What's wrong, baby girl?" I asked, rubbing her back gently.

"Bad dream," she mumbled into my neck. I kissed her skin for a few minutes until she calmed down before speaking again.

"You wanna go for a drive?" I asked her.

"But it's 2:30," she replied with a slight sniffle, pushing herself up to look at me.

"Perfect time to go for a drive," I grinned, kissing her nose. All she did was nod, prompting me to get up, take her hand, and bring her with me.

I didn't bother putting a shirt on and neither of us cared about getting shoes; I just grabbed my car keys on the way out the door.

I opened the passenger door for Mari and let her get in before going around to the driver's side and sitting down myself. I looked over at her after starting the engine, finding her seatbelt already on and her feet perched up in the seat with the rest of her body. I couldn't keep myself from smiling – not that I wanted to anyway – making her give me a look.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked with a shy grin.

"Just love you," I answered, making her blush as I pulled my own seatbelt across my torso. She reached for my hand after I was done buckling up, bringing it over and holding it on her lap. "Where to, princess?" I asked her as she rubbed my skin with her thumb.

"Hmm..." she hummed in content, "Wherever you wanna take me." I chuckled lightly, bringing her hand up so I could kiss the back of it before finally pulling out of the apartment building's parking lot and just taking Mari on a drive around town.

~

Title: "All of Me" by John Legend


	33. Loving Him Was Red

Mari's POV

"Guys, iHeart is in four months and we still don't have anything," Kaylynn groaned, throwing her head back on the couch cushion behind it.

"It's not like we have to have it done tomorrow," Vanessa shook her head, "But songwriting is still hard."

"Mar," Kenzie sighed, "Do you have any ideas?"

"I... I have something..." I shrugged, "I don't... I don't think I'd use it for iHeart though... And I don't...know if it's good..."

"Everything you write is amazing!" Kaylynn shoved my shoulder lightly, "What do you mean you don't know if it's good?!"

"I mean... I don't know..."

"Well, what's it about?"

"No one," I answered a little too quickly, "I mean nothing. It's about nothing." The three girls looked at each other.

"Calum," they nodded in unison before turning back, finding me rolling my eyes.

"Come on, Mar," Vanessa said, "You've written songs about Cal before."

"Yeah, but... You guys aren't exactly...friends...again..."

"You'd feel the same if it were one of us," Kaylynn reminded me.

"But still!" Kenzie chirped, "That song you wrote when you went home for a while is phenomenal!" I made a small noise of protest, but Kaylynn cut me off.

"You're trying really hard to avoid us hearing it," she pointed out, "So what gives?" I looked at them for a moment before sighing.

"I wrote it when you guys went out after our last show in Sydney," I said softly, looking down at my hands.

"You mean the night he..." Vanessa trailed off quietly.

"Yeah..." I barely nodded. I reached down for the bag at my feet, pulling my songbook out and continuing as I flipped through the pages to find it. "You all went out and I was back in me and Kay's hotel room and it was really quiet and I just... I wanted to write... So I did..." I said. I held my book out for one of them to take, and Kenzie grabbed it to hold on her lap so she, Vanessa, and Kaylynn could read the words. "Sorry some of the ink is messed up," I whispered, "I was still crying when I wrote it..." 

It was silent for a couple minutes until they finished reading.

"These lyrics are beautiful, Mar," Vanessa commented softly, and I felt the corner of my mouth twitch.

"Do you have music for this?" Kenzie wondered, handing me my book back.

"Kind of," I nodded, "Just what I was able to do on some crappy piano app on my phone and then my keyboard when I was at my mom's."

"Can we hear it?" she asked carefully.

"Uh..." I looked around to see if there was a keyboard in the room, spotting one sitting in the corner with the guitars and basses, "Yeah... Sure..." We got up and Kaylynn helped me move the keyboard away from the mess so I could sit down on the stool by the window.

I turned the instrument on and played some random pieces to make sure everything was in order and doing what it was supposed to. I put my book on the stand for the sheet music and inhaled deeply before beginning to play the song's intro.

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street  
Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly  
Loving him is like trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall  
Like the colors in autumn, so bright just before they lose it all

Losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark grey – all alone  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
But loving him was red, loving him was red

Touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you  
Memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song  
Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer  
Regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong

Losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark grey – all alone  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
But loving him was red, oh red, burning red

Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes  
Tell myself it's time now – gotta let go  
But moving on from him is impossible when I still see it all in my head in burning red  
Loving him was red

Oh, losing him was blue like I'd never known  
Missing him was dark grey – all alone  
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met  
'Cause loving him was red, yeah, yeah, red  
We're burning red

And that's why he's spinnin' 'round in my head  
Comes back to me burning red, yeah, yeah

His love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street

~

Title/song used: "Red" by Taylor Swift


End file.
